Virtual Settsu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Hozan-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Hozan-ji Temple was founded by Priest Hodo, who traveled from India through Tang China and the Korean kingdom of Baekje to Japan from the 6th to 7th centuries. 

     Once upon a time, there was a magnificent Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha at a village temple in Arida, Ki Province (today's Arida, Wakayama).  The temple was located on the coast and was worshipped by the villagers.  One day, the Ekadasamukha spoke to them, saying, "If you go out to sea, you will encounter disaster.  Flee to the mountains." So, the villagers hurried to the mountains to escape.

     Around noon, an earthquake broke out with a loud rumble and with the ground shaking violently.  A little while later, a tsunami came rolling in from the sea.  The houses of the village near the coast were quickly swallowed up by the waves and destroyed.  The villagers watched with bated breath from the top of the mountain.  After the tsunami, they came to their senses and went to the temple to give thanks for saving their lives.  However, the temple was also swept away by the tsunami, and not a trace was left of it.  After the tsunami subsided, the villagers set out in boats to search for their precious Ekadasamukha statue, but it was nowhere to be found.

     A few years later, a devout female diver lived on the beach of Naruo Village,(today's Naruocho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8184), Muko County, Settsu Province.  While out fishing at sea, she saw something shining in the shadows of some rocks.  Curious, she went closer and saw that it was a magnificent Ekadasamukha statue.  Thinking that her daily faith had been answered and that she had been granted the Ekadasamukha's blessing, she took the statue home, lit a lamp, and enshrined it with great care.

     A little while later, a terrible disease broke out in the area where the female diver lived, causing great distress for everyone.  The villagers heard that there was an Ekadasamukha statue in the female diver's house.  They prayed to the Ekadasamukha, believing that they would be cured.

     Then, thanks to the blessings of the Ekadasamukha, the sicknesses disappeared one after another, and the villagers were overjoyed.  They decided to give thanks to the Ekadasamukha.  Being a poor village, they could not even build a hall.  Instead, everyone gathered together to make lanterns, make offerings, and hold a festival.  As the festival drew to an end, a white bird appeared out of nowhere.  The white bird picked up the Ekadasamukha and flew off to the north, with the villagers stunned.

     Eventually, the white bird flew to a hall built on Furubosan in Tamaze Village (today's Tamase, Takarazuka, Hyogo 669-1231), Kawabe County, Settsu Province, and left the Ekadasamukha and flew away.  That night, the villagers of Tamaze noticed the Ekadasamukha and held a big festival.

     Another summer, an epidemic broke out in the village of Oharano Village (today's Oharano, Takarazuka, Hyogo 669-1211), Kawabe County, Settsu Province.  The villagers headed to Mt. Kobosan, where the Ekadasamukha, which was said to have miraculous powers, resides, and prayed to be cured of their illnesses.  Their prayers were answered, and a flying horse appeared and took the Ekadasamukha away.  On the way, the horse descended onto a rock that was later named as the Horse's Footprints.  It then washed its feet in a muddy pond below Hozan-ji Temple, before entering the temple.

     The Oharano villagers heard about what had happened in Naruo Village, so they made large lanterns, offered them to the Ekadasamukha, and prayed it would cure their illness soon, and the illness was soon cured.  This led to the Oharano villagers' holding a lantern festival called the "Ketron Festival" every year on the night of August 14th.

     In the Ketoron Festival, two groups of nine boys each hang black sashes that imitate the black hair of the female divers.  As a large lantern leads them, they slowly climb to the temple gate while chanting Buddhist prayers and making a "huuu" sound that imitates female divers' whistles.  This festival is still held every year on August 14th at Hosan-ji Temple as the Nianfo Dance.  The name "Ketoron Festival" is said to have been derived from the sound of the gongs, something like ke, and drums, something like toron.  The instruments are used in the festival.

     Hodo-ji Temple is also the #7 member temple of the Upper Tadaso 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: Dosaka-53 Oharano, Takarazuka, Hyogo 669-1211

Phone: 0797-91-0117

 Furubosan

Address: Tamase, Takarazuka, Hyogo 669-1231