Virtual Old Mutsu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Enman-ji Temple Kannon-do Hall

 

     It is unknown whether Gion Shrine, which was renamed Yasaka Shrine after the Meiji Restoration, was invited first or Horse-Headed Hayagriva was enshrined first.

     The Japanese word Gion comes from Jetavana, which was one of the 5 most famous Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India. The five are believed to have already existed while the Buddha still lived. Gion Shrine enshrines the guardian god of Jetavana, who was called Gozu in Japan. The root or the source of the guardian god of Jetavana was Bhaisajyaguru, who chose to be born as a son of Mudang as a part of the syncretism of Buddhism. The son had a bull head, and grew up to find no bride to get married with. One day, he set out on a journey to find a bride. In brief, at last, he got married to a daughter of Naga, who lived in the ocean. Gozu might have had the power to control water as a natural process.

     Gozu was first enshrined at Hiromine Shrine in today’s Himeji. He was invited to today’s Kyoto when the Kamo River flooded and plague spread, they wished for the healing and anti-flood power of Gozu. He was made the main deity of Gion Shrine, or Yasaka Shrine today, in Kyoto.  He was further invited to many parts of Japan, as we had many floods and epidemics, and he is enshrined in more than 2,300 shrines.

     Enman-ji Temple was founded to take care of the Hayagriva statue and its hall.

     In the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, Bhaiṣajyaguru is the original deity of Gion but not Hayagriva.  The shrine and the temple might have been founded according to different conditions.  Legend has it that Sakanoue Tamuramaro (758-811) enshrined Hayagriva to pray for the cure of his horse.  As the shrine and the temple are located on a hill which commands the surrounding flat fields, it is probable that the Imperial Army deployed on the hill.

Address: Kannonyama-85 Hizatate, Hanamaki, Iwate 025-0041

Phone: 0198-28-3361

Yasaka Shrine

Address: Kannonyama-1 Hizatate, Hanamaki, Iwate 025-0041

Phone: 0198-28-3361