Jomyo-in, the Jizo Temple

I rode my bicycle past Jomyo-in Temple hundreds of times on my way to work, never suspecting that it might be worth visiting until last year they started doing construction on it, and I got a look inside because one of the walls was torn down. It’s actually pretty interesting because its filled wall-to-wall with thousands of Jizo sculptures.

Before the Meiji Restoration, all of Ueno Park and a lot of it’s surroundings were one huge temple called Kan’ei-ji, and Jomyo-in was one of its 36 sub-temples. Kan’ei-ji was closely associated with the Tokugawa Shoguns, and Jomyo-in is named for the mother of the fourth Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna.

The temple was renamed Jomyo-in in 1723. The front gate is said to date back from this time.

The jizo thing was started by a monk called Myoun, who became the chief priest of the temple in 1876. He was originally from Osaka, and at the age of 25, while living as a hermit at a temple in Nikko, he came have great faith in Jizo. He started out with the idea of making a thousand jizo statues, but when they were finished, he started thinking big and decided to go for 84,000. The temple and some sites that I checked seem to indicate that there really are 84,000 jizo statues there, but there clearly aren’t.

There’s a really cool 360 degree panoramic photo of the temple here: http://www.360cities.net/image/jomyoin#695.86,-9.07,110.0

And a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY_gi-UPjo4&playnext=1&list=PL851D134A302A2D60

The temple is right next to the entrance of the Yanaka Cemetery.

There’s a very good map and detailed access information on this PDF: http://www.yes-tokio.es/pictures/fichas%20zonas/yanaka.pdf

Here is the temple’s official homepage, in really difficult to read Japanese: http://www.tendaitokyo.jp/jiinmei/jinss/ss3jyomyo.asp

 

Fearsome Nio at Entsuu-ji Temple

Entsuu-ji is a kind of a cheesy-looking Zen Temple near Minami-senju Station in Tokyo, but it has some really cool Buddhist sculptures.

These are kongo rikishi, the “power lords of the diamond realm,” and they stand guard at many Buddhist temples in Japan. Bare-chested, sneering deities, the kongo rikishi are not your average Buddhas. Unlike the serene Kannon, Amida and Jizo statues, their ferocious faces and body-builder physiques are meant to frighten off evil spirits from the temple grounds, and in fact, they’re not true Buddhas at all, but rather protectors of the Buddha.

Kongo Rikishi also represent the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

Look closely at their faces and you’ll notice that one, the Missha Kongo (the secret-knowing Kongo) always has his mouth closed, and one, the Mishabe Kongo, (the secret-speaking Kongo) always has his mouth open.

Entsu-ji probably isn’t worth a special trip, but you might want to combine it with a visit to the Yoshiwara former red-light district or the Kotsukappara Execution Grounds.

Here is the temple’s homepage (in Japanese only) http://www6.plala.or.jp/entsuji/

Getting there: From Minami-senju Station, go out of the West Exit, turn left, and walk to the stop lights. Turn right and walk north to the next set of lights. Turn left, and walk to the second set of lights, which is a big road called Nikko Kaido or Route 4. Cross the street, and turn left. Entsu-ji will be on your right. You can also take Exit 3 from Minowa Subway Station, turn right, and north on Nikko Kaido/Route 4. Coming from Minowa, Entsu-ji will be on your left.Address: Tokyo, Arakawa-ku, Minami-senju 1-59-11 (Japanese: 東京都　荒川区南千住1-59-11)

TEl. 03-3891-1368

These are Kongo Rikishi (aka Nio),Kongo rikishi, the “power lords of the diamond realm,” stand guard at many Buddhist temples in Japan. Bare-chested, sneering deities, the kongo rikishi are not your average Buddhas. Unlike the serene Kannon, Amida and Jizo statues, their ferocious faces and body-builder physiques are meant to frighten off evil spirits from the temple grounds, and in fact, they’re not true Buddhas at all, but rather protectors of the Buddha.

Kongo Rikishi also represent the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Look closely at their faces and you’ll notice that the one on the left, the Missha Kongo (the secret-knowing Kongo) always has his mouth closed, and the one on the right, the Mishabe Kongo (the secret-speaking Kongo) always has his mouth open.

The Temple of the Flying Buddha

Shobo-in temple near Asakusa is dedicated to the Buddhist deity Fudo Myo, and is popularly known as Tobi Fudo. Tobi Fudo means “the flying Fudo Myo.” The temple got its nickname in the 1500s when its founder took an image of Fudo Myo to Mt. Omine, some 300 miles away. The story goes that the image flew back to Tokyo one night, to answer the prayers of devotees there.
Today, a lot of young women who are trying to become flight attendants or people who are afraid of flying go there to pray. The wooden board in the photo is an ema, or votive plaque which people use to write their wish on.

For more information about Shobo-in and the Tobi Fudo, visit: http://www.tctv.ne.jp/tobifudo/engi/eengi.html

Nose Picking Buddha

Nose picking rakan at Kitain Temple in Kawagoe a town in Saitama prefecture near Tokyo that is known for its well-preserved buildings. To see hundreds more rakan photos, visit: http://kawagoe.web.infoseek.co.jp/.

Shibamata, One of Tokyo’s Most Underrated Tourist Attractions

A shitamachi is a traditional downtown Japanese neighborhood. The word conjures up images of bustling merchant areas with a strong sense of community, narrow streets, and traditional wooden buildings.  One of the best places to get a sense of what a shitamachi must have been like is the neighborhood of Shibamata in Tokyo. It’s a little on the touristy side, but the friendly vendors, interesting old buildings, traditional foods, and odd little temples make it an excellent place to spend an afternoon.
Shibamata is most famous for being the home of Tora-san, a popular movie character in the Otoko wa Tsurai Yo series of movies. The main attractions are the atmospheric shopping street and its temples dedicated to the Shichifukujin (The Seven Gods of Good Fortune). Coming out of the station, you’ll see a statue of Tora-san.

You might want to look for a little tourist information office that’s on your right if your back is to the station, just past the Tora-san statue. They have some useful English pamphlets and maps that will help you get to the Shichifuku-jin temples. Follow the crowds and you’ll find yourself on the main shopping street.

At the end of the shopping street is Taishakuten temple, the most famous of the Shichifukujin temples in the area. It’s known for it’s exquisite woodwork. If you’d like to see more of the woodwork, check out Philbert Ono’s great photoguide.jp site. There’s an interesting explanation of the woodcarvings on the Japan Navigator blog.

Another interesting temple in the neighborhood is Ryokan-ji. To get there, turn right when you exit Taishakuten and walk to the big road. Turn left and you’ll see another temple called Shinsho-in on the right side. Turn right at the next big intersection. You’ll go past a big water or garbage treatment plant, and then you’ll come to Ryokan-ji on the left side.

Ryokan-ji is dedicated to the god Hotei.

There are also lots of jizo statues there. There are a bunch more temples in the area, but you’ll need the map to find them as they’re pretty spread out. There is also a Tora-san museum.

Getting there: From Keisei Ueno Station, take the Keisei line to Takasago, and change to the Kanamachi Line. Get off at Shibamata. The fare is 380 yen and it takes a little over 20 minutes.