| Overview |
Gochisan Henjo-in Souji-ji temple is the Buzan school of Shingon Buddhism. According to the temple tradition, it was founded in 826 and for saving the locals suffered from disasters, eleven-faced Kannon statue and Daishi statue were sculpted by Kobo-daishi (Kukai) who had traveled around the countries. They were enshrined in the hall. According to Nishiarai Souji-ji temple inscription, it suffered from a fire three times in 1444, 1446, and 1503 respectively, but the principal deity, Kobo-daishi statue had a lucky escape from the fire. For this reason, Nishiarai Daishi is said to be called Fire prevention temple, and it is believed to work wonders for all disasters. In the Edo period, the temple were well known to the place of study and developed as the special temple for prayers and visitors. Also, the temple was given some domain by the shogunate and it was used as the rest place for Tokugawa shogun Family when they hunt with a falcon. The temple has various events including Kobo-daishi festival on the 21st of every month, Dharma memorial service held on February 3rd and Hokusai Buddhist service on the first Saturday of October (Kobo-daishi shuho-zu, the original painting by Katsushika Hokusai is open to the public) and so on. |
