Ryosenji Nara

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Ryoosenji, Ryōsen-ji 霊山寺 Ryosen-Ji
大和國 登美山鼻高 霊山寺


3873 Nakamachi, Nara - 奈良県奈良市中町3879


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Founded in the eighth century, the Hondō is a National Treasure and a number of other buildings and temple treasures have been designated Important Cultural Properties.

In the late seventh century Ono no Tobito erected a set of public baths on Mount Tomi 登美山 outside Nara and enshrined an image of Yakushi. In 734 Emperor Shōmu instructed Gyōki to erect a hall on the site, and two years later the Indian monk Bodhisena, noticing a resemblance to the Vulture Peak, founded the Ryōsen-ji.


Three storey pagoda 三重塔(重文) (1356), hinoki bark roof

The Hondō was rebuilt in 1283. Toyotomi Hideyoshi granted the temple lands valued at a hundred koku. In the Meiji period many of the monk's quarters were abandoned and over two hundred images were burned. Restored in 1940, the temple has been revived.

Jūrokusho Jinja (十六所神社) Jurokusho Jinja
is now an independent shrine, but before the Meiji period served Ryōsen-ji in a tutelary capacity. The Honden (1384) and subordinate Sumiyoshi Jinja Honden and Ryūō Jinja Honden (both 1386) have been designated Important Cultural Properties.
- source : wikipedia





. Gyoki Bosatsu 行基菩薩 and Bodhisena　菩提僊那 .
(668-749 AD) Gyōki　－ (704 - 760) Bodaisenna

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The great bell in the bell tower makes a sound reminding of the Buddhist Jodo Paradise. Visitors must ring it three times and listen to the reveberating sound of wisdom of the bell, considering life, death and re-birth and also peace in the world.

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Yakushi Yudono　薬師湯殿 The Yakushi Bath Hall



In 672 Ono no Tobito 小野富人, son of the famous Ono no Imoko 小野妹子 and now also called 鼻高仙人 Biko Sennin, took refuge on Mount Tomi 登美山 and planted a garden full of herbs to put in the water. He then erected a set of public baths and enshrined an image of Yakushi Nyorai. Many people from the villages around came here to heal their diseases and take a rest. In 1982 the hall was rebuild in its present form and open to the public.


. . Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Medicine 薬師如来 . .


. byooki heiyu 病気平癒 healing a disease .


. Ono no Imoko 小野妹子 .


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The famous rose garden バラ庭園 - designed by the previous head priest in 1975 for visitors to relax and get refreshed and with the wish for peace in the world.
It relates to the circle of life. The first part considers the Mother-Child connection with red, light-colored roses. Up a few steps is a fountain, the symbol of the circle of birth and re-birth. In the back is a terasse to enjoy some tea.
Best visited from mid-May till mid-June or mid-October till mid-November

バラ園に詣でるなんて旬の技

making a pilgrimage
to the rose garden -
treat of the season

Gabi Greve, July 2014

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CLICK for enlargement to read.


- Homepage of the temple
- source : www.ryosenji.jp




Godai Myo-O 五大明王尊像
(不動明王・大威徳明王・金剛薬叉明王・軍茶利明王・降三世明王)





source :　www.taleofgenji.org
At the graveyard are 12 statues of the protector deities for each of the 12 zodiac animal and people born in that year. Fudo Myo-O is one of them.

. Fudō Myō-ō, Fudoo Myoo-Oo 不動明王 Fudo Myo-O
Acala Vidyârâja - Vidyaraja .



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A torii 鳥居は神門 entrance gate to a Shinto shrine, here for the Benzaiten 辯財天 sanctuary, 弁天堂 Benten-Do

Every spring on the 17th of April, a great fire ritual is held in front of the hall, to honor Fudo Myo-O, who is located in the sub-temple 東光院 Toko-In within the compound. Benten here is said to please Fudo Myo-O with this fire ritual.




. Benten, Benzaiten 弁天　弁財天 .


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. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Fudo Pilgrims - INTRODUCTION .


. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .


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Rendai-Ji Kurashiki

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- - - Gongen, see below
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Rendaiji 蓮台寺 Rendai-Ji
Yugasan Rendaiji 瑜伽山（ゆがさん）由加山

岡山県倉敷市児島由加2855 - 2855 Kojimayuga, Kurashiki, Okayama


CLICK for more photos !

Together with the shrine Yuga Jinja Hongu 由加神社本宮 they are called Yugasan 由加山, a mountain region with a main peak of about 270 meters in Kurashiki.
It has been a place for mountain ascetics since olden times.
It is situated in the middlee of Kojima peninsula 児島半島 and surrounded by deep forests.

In 733, priest Gyoki began to worship the two statues of Amida Nyorai and Yakushi Nyorai here as "Yuga Daigongen" 瑜伽大権現 . He did so on the request of Emperor 聖武天皇 Shomu Tenno (701 - 756) and build temple Yugaji 瑜伽寺 - 経尾山瑜伽寺摩尼珠院, now Rendai-Ji.

Now Yuga Daigongen is one of the three important GONGEN in Japan.

During the Edo period, the Ikeda daimyo of Okayama province declared it as an important temple to pray in January, March and September and had the main hall and prayer hall built to do so.

During the Meiji period, the division between Buddhism and Shinto brought and end to the syncretism and the Yuga Shrine was built in a new location, now named Hongu 由加神社本宮.
In 1998 the Buddhist and Shinto part of the Mountain was divided again, not even allowing pilgrims to use the same parking space.
Pilgrims who went on to Shikoku to Konpira shrine after Yuga Shrine were called to perform a
"pilgrimage to two shrines" "両参り.

iwakura shinkoo 磐座信仰 rock dwelling place of a deity (Shinto)
sangaku shinkoo 山岳信仰 mountain worship (Buddhism)


. 行基菩薩 Gyoki Bosatsu .
(668-749 AD) Gyōki


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Yugasan in Bizen Province
Utagawa Ando Hiroshige, 歌川広重 Brooklyn Museum



The town at the foot of the sacred mountain complex also thrived. Now one speciality served in the tea stalls is "ankoro mochi" あんころ餅 ricecakes .



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ema 　絵馬 votive tablets with Rirakkuma リラックマ


- Annual Festivals and Rituals
January 1 おついたち祭 - 新春特別大祈祷会
February 節分招福星まつり Setsubun
October 厄除不動大祭 - in front of the large stone staute of Fudo Myo-O 石仏大不動尊
Autumn 写経奉納会 copying sutras


- Homepage of the temple
- source : yugasan.jp/



Rirakkuma, Rilakkuma リラックマ　御守り　 Relax Bear
. O-Mamori お守り　Talismans from Japan .　

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由加山蓮台寺火渡り厄除不動大祭 Hiwatari Fire Walking Ritual



Look at the extensive photo collection fo Norbert Woehnl about the Fire Rituals during the annual Fudo Festival in October:
- source : www.norbertwoehnl.com


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yakuyoke Fudo　厄除け不動 Fudo to ward off evil influence

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The Biggest Fudo Myo-O



The sculpture, including the base and the surrounding flames is almost 8 meters tall.
Fudo himself is exactly 366 centimeters,... one for each day of the year with an extra one to take you into the next year. It was completed and installed in 2006 at the mountain temple of Rendai-Ji in southern Okayama. The statue was carved by Kyoto sculptor Araki Keiun.



In front of the altar was a big wooden hand with a cord attached to it. The cord was made of five threads in the 5 sacred colors and it was connected to 5 colored ribbons ..... held in the left hand of Fudo.

Rendai-Ji is part of a big shrine-temple complex on Mount Yuga. The site was once an important place of pilgrimage as pilgrims heading across the channel to Konpira-San would stop here first. After the Edo Period its popularity faded, though Konpira's didnt. The temple is now number 6 on the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.
- source : http://ojisanjake.blogspot.jp


. Araki Keiun 荒木啓運 Araki Kei-Un .

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Yugasan Rendaiji - Okayama Japan 2014
I was fortunate . . . to receive Tokudo Ordination as a Shingon Buddhist Priest.
Check out many photos HERE:
- source : facebook.com/theejoker/media


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Three important Gongen in Japan 日本三大権現
Shinto Deities and their Buddhist Counterparts

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Gongen shinkō
Belief in the incarnation of a Buddha or bodhisattva for the sake of bringing salvation to all sentient beings. Terms having the same meaning include gonge and kegen. There also arose the idea, as seen in the honji-suijaku theory , that the kami of Japan are likewise such manifestations or that they are one and the same, and so there were kami who took on the names of avatars. Since the Heian Period, these include: Sōtō-san (Izusan Jinja), Sannō ( Inage Jinja), Kasuga, Kumano-sanjo (Kumano Hayatama Taisha), Gion-sanjo, Atsuta (Atsuta shinkō), and Zaō. There was a particularly strong tendency to use Buddhist names for mountains that were the sites of ascetic practices. In medieval times, the practice of giving shrines the names of avatars spread. In general, it may be said that at the root of the various forms of syncretism, whether the title was applied or not, lay the concept of gongen.

At the same time, however, in Yoshida Shintō, the superiority of the designation Daimyōjin ("great gracious deity") was advocated from the standpoint of Shintō supremacy, and the bestowal of that name was actively pursued. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, he became Toyokuni Daimyōjin; when, on the other hand, Tokugawa Ieyasu died, the Buddhist priest Tenkai argued from the standpoint of Sannō Shintō for the gongen name. As a result, Ieyasu took on the shingō of Tōshō Daigongen ("Great Avatar, Illuminator of the East").
With the separation of Shinto and Buddhism (shinbutsu bunri) by the Meiji government, gongen were abolished, and shrines came to be called jinja.
- source : Yonei Teruyoshi, Kokugakuin 2006


Shichisha Gongen 七社権現 Gongen Deities from Seven Shrines

伊豆権現 Izu Gongen、箱根権現 Hakone Gongen、日光権現 Nikko Gongen、蔵王権現 Zao Gongen
白山権現 Hakusan Gongen、熊野権現 Kumano Gongen and 山王権現 Sanno Gongen.



賑岡町岩殿160 - Nigioka village, Iwadono, Otsuki, Yamanashi
- source : otsuki-kanko.info -


. shichinin misaki 七人ミサキ "Misaki of seven people" .
a legend from Ehime, 温泉郡 Onsen district 重信町 Shigenobu

Once a family of seven went hunting for hawks, (which was forbidden), and even ate the hawk. They were executed by chopping off their heads. Later if people walk by that ground, they will soon encounter some misfortune. The souls of the seven are now venerated at a small Hokora sanctuary as
Shichisha Gongen 七社権現 The Gongen Deities from Seven Shrines .


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- Homppage of the shrine Yuga Jinja 由加神社本宮
- source : yugasan.or.jp


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. Iwakura matsuri 岩倉祭 "festival of the rock cave" .
kigo for late autumn


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. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Fudo Pilgrims - INTRODUCTION .


. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .


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RRR

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- RRR -


. raigoo, raigō 来迎 Raigo, the soul on the way to paradise .
"Decent of Amida Buddha", "Amida Coming over the Mountain"

. rakan 羅漢 Arhat, 500 Rakan .


. rin 錀 - 鈴 "singing bowl" for prayers and rituals .
and other prayer gongs and drums



. rokudoo 六道 Rokudo, the six realms of existence .
The World of Devas or Gods - tendoo 天道（てんどう、天上道、天界道とも）
The World of Asuras, Demigods, Titans, Fighting Demons - shuradoo 修羅道（しゅらどう）
The World of Humans - ningendoo 人間道（にんげんどう）
The World of Animals - chikushoodoo畜生道（ちくしょうどう）
The World of Hungry Ghosts - gakidoo 餓鬼道（がきどう）
The World of Hell - jigokudoo 地獄道（じごくどう）

. Rokugo Manzan 六郷満山 temples of Oita . Kunisaki Peninsula　国東半島

. rokuharamitsu 六波羅蜜 six paramitas,
six religious practices, roku haramitsu .

. rokujuurokubu 六十六部 Rokujurokubu, Rokujuroku Bu pilgrimage .
六部(ろくぶ) Rokubu pilgrim to 66 temples // kaikoku hijiri 廻国聖 - itinerant Rokubu Pilgrim
- and the 66 volumes of the 法華経 Hokekyo Lotus Sutra
- rokubu Jizoo 六部地蔵 Rokubu Jizo Bosatsu


. rokumonsen 六文銭　six coins to cross the River of Hell .




. rokusai nenbutsu 六斎念仏 Rokusai "six memorial days" prayers .
rokusai 六斎（ろくさい）、rokusai e 六斎会（ろくさいえ）
rokusai koo 六斎講（ろくさいこう）Rokusai prayer group
rokusai odori 六斎踊（ろくさいおどり）Rokusai dance
rokusai daiko 六斎太鼓（ろくさいだいこ）Rokusai drum



Rozan-ji 廬山寺
is situated just accros from the Nashinoki Shrine (梨木神社) on the East side of Kyoto's Imperial Palace. It is famous because Lady Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部) is believed to have written here “Tale of Genji” and “The Diary of Lady Murasaki”. Her great grandfather, Lord Fujiwara Kanesuke, built a mansion here and Lady Murasaki grew up here.
Rozanji Temple was built in the year 938 on a hill called Funaoka Yama situated at the northern outskirts of Kyoto by the priest Ryōgen (良源) better known as Ganzan Daishi (元三大師).
source :　facebook



. Ruriji 瑠璃寺 Ruri-Ji temples and Yakushi .
- - - - - Rurikooji 瑠璃光寺 temples names Ruriko-Ji - Rurikō-ji 　
- - - - - Rurizan （るりざん） 瑠璃山 Ruriyama
Yakushi Ruriko Nyorai 薬師瑠璃光如来 Yakushi of Lapis Lazuli Radiance


. ryuuge-e 竜華会（りゅうげえ）"dragon flower celebration" .
at the ceremony Kanbutsu-e 潅仏会 Buddha's Birthday April 8



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