Jindaiji Temple 2
Part 2 of our guide to Jindaiji. If you haven’t read part 1 yet, you can find it here: Jindaiji Temple 1
Part 2 of our guide to Jindaiji. If you haven’t read part 1 yet, you can find it here: Jindaiji Temple 1
釈迦堂/ しゃかどう
Shaka dou was built in 1976 to store the Buddha statue listed as a national treasure. The entrance fee is ¥300 per person. Under 18s are free.
釈迦如来/ しゃかにょらい
Shaka Nyorai
This Buddha image is presumed to be from the Hakuhou period (About 661-685).
This poem monument is by Kouji Kobayashi.
This was erected in memorial of the soldiers from this area who died in the Russo-Japanese War.
After seeing the national treasure Buddha, you can go out from the Inuimon gate, turn left and go down the hill again.
Last time, you took the road left so this time, let's go right.
Soon after going right, you can see the Enmei Kannon hall on the right side.
延命観音/ えんめいかんのん
The deity, Enmei Kannon, dispels curses and poison from your body and blesses you with a long life. Carved into a huge stone, Enmei Kannon is about 2 metres wide and 2 metres deep, and weighs about 12,700 kg (14 tons)!
This huge stone was found in Kisakata harbor in Akita prefecture in 1966 when a construction company was working to lower the seabed to turn the harbour into a port.
It is said that the statue was made by Ennin who was the third head priest of the Tendai sect, and so it was moved to this temple.
This poem monument is by Bashou Matsuo.
Soon after passing the poem monument, you can see the back side of the Jinsha Daiou hall on the left.
深沙大王/ じんしゃだいおう
Jinsha Daiou is one of the guardian deities of Buddhism. The statue of Jinsha Daiou isn't open to public viewing.
土足厳禁/ どそくげんきん
Dosoku genkin means that shoes are strictly prohibited in this area. But, if you remove them, you can go up stairs and look inside the hall
This painting was drawn by Kansen Hirose who is also famous for a poster of the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series held in 1934.
A soba shop at the top of the stairs. This is a lovely shop tucked away on a hill with a peaceful view of the surrounding trees. Why not stop for a bite to eat?
Turn left at the end of the road. Beyond the fence is Jindaiji Botanical Gardens.
This cemetery is on the top of the hill. Go past the cemetery on the left and go along the street.
Jizou no sato is on the left of going down the slope.
延命地蔵尊/ えんめいじぞうそん/ Enmei Jizouson is the guardian deity of children who protects newly born children and gives them a long life. People also pray to Enmei Jizouson to avoid young and premature deaths.
You can see many Jizo statues in the area.
Next we'll go down the hill and across the road at the bottom of the hill. Here you'll see other Jizouson.
珠瓔庭/ しゅえいてい
Shuei-tei is a place for praying for paving stones. Followers of the Tendai sect pray for the paving stones because they believe that even they have souls of their own. Since humans walk over them, they are worth praying for.
On the way back to the Jinsha Daiou hall, you can see the soba shop, Shinsuian, on the left.
For the next destination, go past the shop and head along the street.
You can see the water wheel on the left. People used it to mill rice and buckwheat in the old days. You can see the inside of it too.
Turn left at the Japanese kaiseki restaurant, Suijin-en.
大黒天/ だいこくてん
恵比寿尊/ えびすそん
You can see the shrine on the right on the way to the Jinsha-Daiou hall.
Daikokuten has a hammer called Tsuchi in Japanese. This is pronounced the same way as soil, so it symbolises the land that gives us produce like rice and other crops. People pray to him for good luck, good fortune and help in agriculture.
Ebisuson has a fishing rod which symbolises an enjoyment of fishing, but there is no net - symbolic of not being a profiteer. People pray to him for good commerce and bountiful fishing.
This is my favourite way of walking around the temple area. After that, I usually go to the shops around the main gate and eat sweets or buy souvenirs!
A map of the course.
To enter the beautiful temple. I always think it’s more exciting to see the things if you could know the story of each deity and buildings before going.
This temple is so quiet even though it’s the second oldest temple in Tokyo. The atmosphere is amazing.
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