Chokoku-ji (Atsugi)
The Chōkoku-ji ( Japanese 長 谷 寺 ), with the mountain name Iinoue-yama ( 飯 上山 ), also called Iiyama Kannon ( 飯 山 観 音 ), is a temple of the Shingon direction of Buddhism in the mountains on the outskirts of Atsugi ( Kanagawa Prefecture ), Japan. In the traditional census it is the 6th of the 33 temples in the Kantō region .
history
According to tradition, the temple was founded by priest Gyōki in the year Jinki 2 (725), i.e. in the Nara period . It is said that in 988 the temple became the 6th temple in the group of 33 temples in the Kanto region. Every year on November 3rd, the day of culture , the temple festival takes place. 33 Kannon figures are carried around in a procession and the “jumping over fire to ward off evil” ( 厄 除 火 渡 Yakuyoke hiwatari ) is carried out.
The attachment
If you climb the hill, you come to the temple gate, which is designed here as a Niō gate ( 仁王 門 Niō-mon ), i.e. as a gate with the two temple guards ( Niō ) to the right and left of the passage. On the way to the main hall you can see a tall stone disc on the left and next to it a group of six Jizō , the signature according to the year 1711. In front of the main hall the way is lined with newer stone lanterns on the right and left.
The current main hall ( 本 堂 Hondō ) dates from the middle Edo period . In the bell tower ( 鐘楼 Shōrō ) hangs a copper bell from 1442, which a Kiyohara Kunimitsu ( 清 原 国 光 ) cast. Behind the main hall, a path leads up to the Hakusan Shrine ( 白山 神社 Hakusan-jinja ).
Treasures of the temple
In the main hall there is a row of Buddhist sculptures. The main cult figure is a small, eleven-faced Kannon , 10.6 cm tall. She is the companion of an eleven-faced Kannon, 175 cm tall, which was made from a piece of camphor wood. The little Kannon is in a shrine ( 厨子 Zushi ) and is not open to the public as part of esoteric Buddhism.
literature
- Kanagawa-ken kotogakko Kyoka kenkyukai shakaika bukai rekishi bunkakai (Ed.): Iiyama Kannon . In: Kanagawa-ken no rekishi sampo (jo). Yamakawa Shuppan, 2005. ISBN 978-4-634-24614-0 . Pp. 167, 168.
Coordinates: 35 ° 28 ′ 17.8 " N , 139 ° 18 ′ 13.8" E