Virtual New Mutsu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Sansei-do Hall

 

     Sansei-do Hall is located in the precincts of Zuigan-ji Temple, whose foundation date wasn't recorded.  The temple's precincts also have many caves where dead bodies could have been placed before the introduction of Buddhism.  The area must have been a holy place since prehistoric days.

     Although the hall was built in 1682 by Priest Tobaku, its statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, should have been enshrined before the organization of the New Mutsu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1123.

     By the way, as Zuigan-ji Temple has many Avalokitesvara images, it is unknown why the one in Sansei-do Hall was chosen to be #6 deity of the New Mutsu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     Sansei literally means 3 Saints.  The hall enshrines the images of Bodhidharma and Sugawara Michizane (845-903) as well as the Arya Avalokitesvara image.

     Originally, the hall was built to face north-east, but Priest Jogen changed its direction to the south for the convenience of its worshippers and visitors.

Zuigan-ji Temple

Address: Chonai-91 Matsushima, Miyagi District, Miyagi 981-0213

Phone: 022-354-2023