Kanjizaiji (観自在寺) is a
Shingon Buddhist
Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.
Kn ...
temple in ''Ainan-cho'' (愛南町),
Minamiuwa District, Ehime
is a district located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
As of 2004, the estimated population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governme ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It is number 40 of the 88 temples in the
Shikoku Pilgrimage.
''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 visited the town and made 3 venerable statues (尊像, ''sonzou'') in honor of
Emperor Heizei. 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 (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.
Emperor Heizei and
Emperor Saga 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
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
of this temple is called ''
Benzaiten
Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...
'' (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 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