Zendoji Temple Legends

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Zendooji 善導寺 Legends about Zendoji Temples in Japan

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

....................................................................... Gunma 群馬県 　

. daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake .
The daughter of the priest of 善導寺 the Temple Zendo-Ji had thrown her body
into 榛名湖 lake Haruna and became daija 大蛇 a huge snake.
She left the scales of the serpent at the temple.
They are still kept there.
On May 26 the priest puts some rice in a box and throws it into the lake.
The box sinks down and comes up empty after a while.

榛名湖 Lake Haruna is a caldera lake.
It lies near the summit of Mount Haruna, within the city limits of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture.
A former name for the lake is Lake Ikaho.
In the summer, the lake is a popular destination for campers. - wikipedia

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The old mother of 道阿上人 Saint Doa, the priest of 善導寺 the Temple Zendo-Ji had made a visit to
Haruna Jinja 榛名神社 the Shrine of Haruna in 1394.
On her way back she trew her body into Ikaho no numa 伊香保の沼 the swamp of Ikaho
and became a huge serpent with horns.
The priest held a special ritual for her. That night, the mother appeared in his dream
and told him, she had become a serpent at 筑紫広島池 Chikushi Hiroshima Pond.
She had decided to do something good for the people, left the pond, became pregnant and
her son was Sain Doa. She thanked Saint Doa and vanished.

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Gunma 吾妻郡 Azuma district 東吾妻町 Higashi-Azuma town

The mother of the priest of 善導寺 the Temple Zendo-Ji had thrown her body into 榛名湖 lake Haruna
and became a huge serpent.
On May 5 the priest throws a box with some food into the lake.
The box comes up later with three scales as a thank-you gift.

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Gunma 榛名町 Haruna town

The wife of 木部殿 Lord Kibe had thrown herself into 伊香保の沼 the swamp of Ikaho
and became a large serpent.
When Lord Kibe went to the lake side, she told him she had always been a serpent
and turned into a human.
The servants of the Lady also threw themselves into the lake and became kani カニ crabs.
The Lord built 金子の宮 the Shrine Kaneko no Miya, which sank into the lake.
It can be seen on some summer mights.
Lord Kibe had also built 善導寺 the Temple Zendo-Ji
and helt rituals for their souls on April 8.

. daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake .

. Haruna Jinja 榛名神社 Haruna Shrine - homepage.

- quote

The subject is taken from the legend of Mt. Haruna, in which the wife of a feudal lord reverts to her former from as a serpent before disappearing into the waters. ... The theme of Pond at Ikaho is a legend that tells of the wife of a feudal lord during the period of warfare and social change in Japan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, who reverted to her former form, a serpent, and disappeared into the waters of Ikaho Swamp deep in Mt. Haruna.
. asset/pond-at-ikaho/ ....

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Gunma 館林市 Tatebayashi city

. ryuujin 竜神 /龍神 と伝説 Ryujin, Legends about the Dragon Deity .
When 幡隨意上人 Saint Hataka Yoshi held a sermon at the Temple Zendo-Ji,
a young womna of about 18 years came to him and said:
"I am the wife of ryuujin 龍神 the dragon Deity which lives in 城沼 the marsh of Shironuma.
Please safe me through your high virtue talk."
When the Saint looked at her, she soon became a dragon.
When the Saint touched her forehead with his staff,
she turned back into a woman.
The woman said she would protect the temple and then jumped into the well.
The villagers closed the well for ever.




....................................................................... Niigata　新潟県　
Niigata 高田市 Takada city 寺町 Teramachi

Zendo-Ji Teramachi 寺町2-5-5, Joetsu-shi, Niigata, Japan
. source : takada.zendouji ... .
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ryuusui 竜水 Ryusui, "dragon water"
The 竜神の井 well of the Dragon God at the temple Zendo-Ji and 青柳の池 the pond Aoyagi no Ike are connected.

Around 1580, when 幡随意院上人 Saint Banzuii (1542 - 1615) took a rest here, he was saved.

The name of the pond became Aoyagi no ike 青柳の池, since the priest was
a dragon named Aoyagi no Mokuta 青柳の杢太.
Saint Banzuii also saved 龍女 Ryujo female dragons.
. ryuujin 竜神 /龍神 と伝説 Ryujin, Legends about the Dragon Deity .

. ryuujo 竜女と伝説 / 龍女 Ryujo - Legends about female dragons .

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Niigata 上越市 Joetsu city

At 善導寺 the Temple Zendo-Ji in 高田 Takada there is a well with no water at all.
But on the 15th of August every year it becomes full of water.
This well is connected to 青柳池 Aoyagi Pond.
On this day, 池の主である龍 the Dragon master of the Aoyagi pond comes for a visit.

. ryuu, ryū 龍　竜　伝説　Ryu - dragon legends .
. ike no nushi 池の主 master of the pond .

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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 .

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