Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Muryoju-in Temple

 

     From the age of 19 to 29, Kukai sought out isolated mountain regions and wandered the countryside or from temple to temple.  In 806, he returned from studying in China.  From 810 to 824, he might have gone back and forth between Kyoto and his homeland, Sanuki Province.  On one of those days, he could have visited where Muryoju-ji Temple was later founded.  Amidst a landscape of flourishing old pines and moss-covered rocks, there was a boulder that suddenly emitted a brilliant light; moved by this miraculous sign, he built a thatched hermitage there. The area came to be known as Iwamitsu ("Rock Light") and was later renamed Nozoe.

     The principal image, Amitayus Tathagata (Muryoju Nyorai), is said to be the work of Jyang Juhun, a Buddhist sculptor from Goryeo, created in the 7th century.

     The sacred image had been handed down in the household of Imai Rokuroemon in Nishijima Village, Akashi County, Harima Province. The image repeatedly expressed a desire in dreams to go to Iwamitsu. Eventually, Rokuroemon carried the image on his back and relocated it to Iwamitsu Village.

     Long after Kukai built the hermitage, and Rokuroemon brought the image, the site had fallen into disrepair. Later, Priest Kakuban (1095-1143) visited the site and heard of the miraculous events of the past. In 1103, he restored the hermitage and named it Muryoju-in.

     Subsequently, the temple became a center for the study of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism and a training center for kanjo (consecration/initiation) rituals.

     The temple has 4 woodblocks for the Rishu-kyo (Principle of Wisdom Sutra). The blocks bear an inscription dating them to the 19th year of Bunmei (1487). Signs of wear on the woodblocks suggest they were used extensively for printing, implying that many monks gathered at this temple to study and practice the teachings.

     The Rishu-kyo, formally known as Prajnaparamita-naya-satapancasatika, is a Buddhist esoteric scripture.  In the Shingon Buddhist sects, it is a common practice for ordained priests to chant the Rishu-kyo daily.

Address: 3 Chome-8-16 Nishinozoe, Harima, Kako District, Hyogo 675-0160

Phone: 078-942-3866