2021/04/08

Yakushi Do Hall Legends

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. Japanese Legends - 伝説 民話 昔話 – ABC-List .
. Buddhist Temples and their Legends .
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Yakushidoo 薬師堂 Yakushi-Do Temple Legends
陸奥国分寺薬師堂 Mutsu Kokubun-Ji Yakushi Do

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. O-Mamori お守り Amulets and Talismans .

. 薬師如来 Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 Bhaisajyaguru - ABC .

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- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

下萌や陸奥国分寺薬師堂
shitamoe ya Mutsu Kokubun-Ji Yakushi Doo

sprouts and shoots -
the Yakushi Hall at
Kokubunji in Mutsu

Tr. Gabi Greve

山崎ひさを Yamasaki Hisao

. WKD : shitamoe - kigo for early spring .

- quote -
Mutsu Kokubun-ji (陸奥国分寺)
is a Buddhist temple in Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai, Japan, belonging to the Shingon-shū Chizan-ha sect, and is the provincial temple ("kokubunji") of former Mutsu Province.
The grounds of the temple are a National Historic Site. and one of its structures, the early Edo period Yakushi-dō (薬師堂) is an Important Cultural Property.
The Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a major smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the kokubunji (国分寺). ...
... Following the establishment of Sendai Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate, Masamune Date rebuilt the complex from 1605 on a large scale, but not upon the original foundations. At one point, it was surrounded by 25 subsidiary chapels. However, following the Meiji restoration, most of the temple was destroyed by the government's anti-Buddhism movement, leaving only one chapel at the present-day Yakushi-do...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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. Japanese Legends - 伝説 民話 昔話 – ABC-List .


....................................................................... Akita 秋田県  
湯沢市 Yuzawa city 桑崎 Kazaki

. Ono no Komachi 小野小町 .
Once Ono no Komachi became infected with scabies.
She retreated to 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do at Kazaki and washed herself with pure water.
Soon she was healed.




....................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県  
今治市 Imabari city

. enko エンコ a Kappa .
Once upon a time, a man named Yoichi went to his field near 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do
when a Kappa came out and wanted to do Sumo with him.
Yoichi made the Kappa wait, went into the Yakushi Hall, had a Buddhist meal and then came out again.
By now, the Kappa had run away.




....................................................................... Fukushima 福島県  
Fukushima 伊達市 Date city 月館町 Tsukidate town

reimu 霊夢 an oracle dream
Once the daughter of the Lord of 信夫城 the Shinobu castle took the statue of 薬師 Yakushi Nyorai
and climbed 女神山 the mountain Megamiyama (Mountain of the Female Deity).
Villagers from 18 families joined her. They saw her place the statue in a small hall.
Back home they decided to build a real 薬師堂 Hall for Yakushi Nyorai.

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Fukushima いわき市 Iwaki city

ishi 石 a stone
In the garden of 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do there was a stone looking like a dokko 独鈷 Vajra.
People thought it was really amazing. - - But now it is not there any more.

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Fukushima 南会津郡 Minami-Aizu district

shinmei sama しんめい様 / 神明 the Deity Shinmei Sama
At 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do in 大宮村木伏 Omiya village, Kippushi hamlet,
there is a statue of the deity 神明 Shinmei Sama.
If someone in the village gets ill, the priest of the temple takes it to them.
In the box there is a male and a female deity. Their robes are luxurious.
If someone has a headace or stiff shoulders, or children are crying a lot, they come here to get healed.
The festival of Yakushi is on April 8.
The festival for Shinmei Sama is on June 10.




....................................................................... Gifu 岐阜県  
Gifu 益田郡 Masuda district 下呂町 Gero town and 上原村 Kaminohara village

. uma 馬 koma 駒伝説 horse legends .
At 蚕飼薬師堂 the Temple Kogai Yakushi-Do there is an ema 絵馬 amulet with a horse.
At night, the horse, painted by 狩野法眼 Kano Hogen, gets of the painting and devastates the fields nearby.
They painted some reins on the horse and it stopped leaving.




....................................................................... Ibaraki 茨城県  
東村 Higashi village

. Yakushida 薬師田 / ヤクシダ "Fields of Yakushi" .




....................................................................... Iwate  

. inu 犬と伝説 Legends about a dog / Hund .
At 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do on the island 江ノ島 Enoshima,
樋爪俊衡 Hizume Toshihira, a warior of the Heian period, is enshrined.
The Yakushi does not like dogs or chicken.
If someone on the island eats them, people will have bad luck.

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Iwate 西磐井郡 Nishi-Iwai district 平泉町 Hiraizumi town

. Karasu Tengu 烏天狗 Crow Tengu .
At the 中尊寺薬師堂 Yakushido Hall at Temple Chuzon-Ji there is the skull of a Karasu Tengu.




....................................................................... Kagawa 香川県  
綾歌郡 Ayauta district 綾川町 Ayagawa town

. uma 馬 koma 駒伝説 horse legends .
A man once stayed over night at 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do near the lake.
At night he got up to the toilet he saw a small horse getting bigger and bigger.
When it was so large he had to look up to it, it disappeared.
Soon there came another small horse and became bigger.
He was so afraid that he run away as fast as he could.

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Kagawa 三豊郡 Mitoyo district 詫間町 Takuma town

If a woman has an ill child or her husband is ill
or a good friend becomes ill and she wants them to get better,
she cuts her hair and brings it to 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do as an offering.




....................................................................... Kochi 高知県  
長岡郡 Nagaoka district 西豊永村 Nishitoyonaga village

. The tsue 杖 walking staff of 行基菩薩 Saint Gyoki Bosatsu .




....................................................................... Kumamoto 熊本県  
阿蘇郡 Aso district

nureonna ヌレオンナ a wet woman
The nure-onna ヌレオンナ a wet woman often appears in the Aso region.
She is a monster with wet hair. She lures people and drinks their blood.
People think it is a middle-aged serpent.
She is often seen at 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do near the 栃木温泉 Tochigi hot spring.
. hebi 蛇と伝説 Legends about snakes and serpents .




....................................................................... Kyoto 京都府 

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Kyoto 亀岡市 Kameoka city

If 薬師堂の鐘 the temple bell from the Yakushi-Do Hall is sunk into the nearby river 蛇谷川 Jadanigawa
it will soon start to rain.
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Kyoto 舞鶴市 Maizuru city

kane no oto 鐘の音 the sound of a bell
Near the crematorium there used to be 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do.
People say that some koban 小判 gold coins have been buried there.
On a quiet day the sound from the temple bell can be heared.

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Kyoto 南丹市 Nantan city

If people pray at 薬師堂 the Yakushi Do Hall at 成就院 the temple Joju-In,
people with hearing problems will always get better.
To express their gratitude, healed people bring stones with a hole as a thank-you offering.

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. kyuuri kaji 胡瓜加持 ritual for cucumber purification .
kyuuri fuuji きゅうり封じ / 胡瓜封じ cucumber ritual




....................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県 
柴田郡 Shibata district 柴田町 Shibata

. nure Yakushi 濡れ薬師 Yakushi who got wet .
and the beautiful Lady O-Yoshi およし

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Miyagi 仙台市 Sendai city

. Daruma ko ame 達磨コ飴 / 達磨子飴 Daruma lollipops .




....................................................................... Nagano 長野県  
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Nagano 木曽郡 Kiso district 木祖村 Kiso village

Once 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do burned down in a huge fire, even the meadows nearby burned.
But one small building did not burn.
When they later investigated, they found that the statue of Yakushi Nyorai was in the hall.
They say the statue of Yakushi Nyorai walked over there all by itself.

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Nagano 北安曇郡 Kita-Azuma district 小谷村 Otani village

arabiru kamisama あらびる神様 a wild deity
Once upon a time, there was a very wild Deity in the area, disturbing the villagers.
The villagers put the deity in the ground and built 薬師堂 a Yakushi-Do hall above it.
The villagers had feared this "wild deity" and even now
if someone touches the earth below the hall, he will be cursed.

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Nagano 更埴市 Koshoku town 桑原村 Kuwahara village

tsuetsuki sakura 杖つき桜 a cherry tree growing from a walking staff
In 薬師堂 the Temple Yakushi-Do there is an old cherry tree.
When Priest Saigyo Hoshi came to the village, he jammed his walking staff in the ground near the lake,
where it begun to grow.
. Saigyo Hoshi 西行法師 and the Cherry Blossoms .




....................................................................... Nara 奈良県  
吉野郡 Yoshino district 吉野町 Yoshino town

. kagayaita yo na sugata no hito 輝いたような姿の人 "a shining person" .




....................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県  
鹿沼市 Kanuma city

In front of the home of the Uesawa family, there is 薬師堂 a Temple Yakushi-Do.
If people wash their eyes with the water of the temple, they will be healed.
Healthy people will never get an eye disease.
But now there is no more water in the well.




....................................................................... Yamaguchi 山口県 
下関市 Shimonoseki city

The pond in the grounds of the remains 薬師堂 of the Temple Yakushi-Do
was used to wash the eyes to heal a disease.
The water would also remove warts.




....................................................................... Yamanashi 山梨県 
韮崎市 Nirasaki city 大草町 Okusa town

. kadomatsu 門松と伝説 Legends about pine decorations .
at the temple 正福寺 Shofuku-Ji


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -

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. Temples with legends .
. Japanese Legends - 伝説 民話 昔話 – ABC-List .
. Japan - Shrines and Temples - Index .

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