Kanjizaiji (観自在寺) is a Shingon Buddhist

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in ''Ainan-cho'' (愛南町), Minamiuwa District, Ehime, Japan. It is number 40 of the 88 temples in the

Shikoku Pilgrimage The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...

. ''Ji'' (寺) means temple in Japanese. ''Kanjizai'' (観自在) is the name of Avalokitesvara (観音, ''Kannon'') which is used in the Heart Sutra (般若心経, ''Hannya-Shingyo''). The history of the temple is said to date to the year 807 when

Kūkai Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon se ...

visited the town and made 3 venerable statues (尊像, ''sonzou'') in honor of

Emperor Heizei , also known as ''Heijō-tennō'', was the 51st emperor of Japan, Emperor Heizei, Yamamomo Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Heizei's reign lasted from 806 to 809. Traditional narr ...

. At that time he made the ''

honzon , sometimes referred to as a Gohonzon ( or ), is the enshrined main image or principal deity in Japanese Buddhism. The buddha, bodhisattva, or mandala image is located in either a temple or a household butsudan. The image can be either a statue o ...

'' of

Yakushi Nyorai Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

(本尊薬師如来), ''Wakihutsu Amida-Nyorai'' (脇仏阿弥陀如来) and ''Jūichimen Kanzenon'' (十一面観世音). These statues were quite precious for all the people from the commonalty to the Emperors.

and

Emperor Saga was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign spanned the years from 809 through 823. Traditional narrative Saga was the ...

visited this temple every year. That's why, the area around this temple became called ''Hirajo'' (平城) whose character means Heizei (平城). There are some events in each month and sometimes there are so many booths on the street. The small festival is called ''O-daishi-sama'' (御大師様) and it is held once around two months to celebrate the tie with Kūkai. Kanjizaiji has some special features. This temple has one of the ''Nanyo''

Seven Gods of Fortune In Japanese mythology, the Seven Lucky Gods or Seven Gods of Fortune (, shichifukujin in Japanese) are believed to grant good luck and are often represented in netsuke and in artworks. One of the seven (Jurōjin) is said to be based on a historic ...

(南予七福神, ''Nanyo-ShichiFukujin'') in ''Houshūden-Hakkakudou'' (宝聚殿八角堂). ''Nanyo'' (南予) means the southern part of Ehime. The deity of this temple is called '' Benzaiten'' (弁財天). She is a deity of treasure and arts. She prevents the natural disasters for people, and brings the rich harvest in the town. And also she brings people good fortune of studying. Kanjizaiji has also statues of the twelve

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

signs (干支, ''Eto''), and they're called ''Hattaihutsu-Jūnishi-Honzon'' (八体仏十二支本尊). The visitors water their own signs' statues and pray to it.

External links

Kanjizaiji
- the official website {{coord, 32, 57, 52.8, N, 132, 33, 50.6, E, region:JP_type:landmark, display=title Shingon Buddhism Buddhist temples in Ehime Prefecture Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Japan Ainan, Ehime