Stone Sculptures of An old Temple

The Adashino Nenbustuji Temple belongs to the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, the area of Adashino was once a grave yard in the old days and according to temple legend, between 810 and 824, the high priest buried a thousand stone Buddhist statues and placed a stone image of the Gochi Nyorai (Buddha of the five wisdoms) on the side of a river flowing in the middle of Adashino to pray for the souls of the people buried there. It is believed that during the Heian Period people abandoned the bodies of the dead on the hills in and around the area of the temple. Since then the stone sculptures have continued to grow and on the 23rd and the 24th of August every year, Sento Kuyo (the thousand candle-lights offering) festival is held, during the festival a lit candle is offered to each one of 8000 +/- stone Buddhist images for unknown people.

That is all true but this is not Adashino Nenbustuji Temple, this is the Otagi-ji temple, it was first built by the order of Emperor Shotoku in the later half of the 8th century. At the beginning of the Heian period (794-1192), the temple building was washed away when the Kamo River flooded. The temple was re-established by Senkan Naigu (918-984), a priest of the Tendai sect, and became a branch of Enryakuji, the Tendai temple complex on Mt. Hiei.

Over a period of three years beginning in 1922, the temple was transferred to its present location in the Saga District, in order to preserve it. The temple has a wonderful array of 1,200 carved stone figures of Rakan (disciples of Shaka, the founder of Buddhism)made by people from various parts of the country from 1981 to1991 for the reconstruction of the temple.

The three bells (Sambo-no-kane,) are the three things treasured in Buddhism , Buddha, the dharma (law), and the priests.

As we started to walk around the grounds I had a real sense of stepping back in time, at first I saw everything around me, then I started to look at what was in front of me, each of these stone statues are different with their own personality and character lovingly chiselled into them.

As we were walking around I noticed the Japanese phoenix on the temple roof and the dragon in the pond under the waterfall. In Japanese and Chinese mythology the Phoenix and the Dragon are intertwined in the protection and safe passage of lost souls. In Japan, the phoenix is identified as the Ho-ho (alternatively, ho-o) bird. It is a sun-bird … the sun is often represented in the art form of a bird. The ho-ho bird is a messenger of goodwill that comes to earth and sits on top of the torii. The Chinese and the Japanese Dragon look similar and both are made from several animals but a way to tell them apart is to count the claws, it is said that a Chinese dragon has five or four claws and a Japanese dragon has three claws. Although dragon myth and legends existed long before Buddhism, the Japanese dragon is known as the protector of Buddhist Law.

If you get to Kyoto Japan have a look around the outer areas you may find it interesting.

Japanese Dragon

Japanese Phoneix