Chojuin - Taito City

The principal image of Chojuin, which belongs to the Jodo sect, is an unusual statue of Amida Nyorai tilted diagonally downward to the left, and is commonly known as Amida in return. Regarding this peculiar image and name, Chojuin conveys the following auspices. A long time ago, when an old woman in Natori-gun, Oshu visited Kishu Kumano Gongen, she met a famous monk named Eshin Sozu and received the statue of Amida Nyorai that the monk had. The old woman was happy to return home, but when she came to Toshima-gun, Musashi Province, the statue of Amida suddenly became heavy, and the old woman placed herself in a nearby temple and returned to her hometown alone. In the early Edo period, this statue was located in a temple called Chofukuji in Kanda, but a monk named Kyuen, who heard about the luck of the statue, deeply worshiped this statue and opened the Chojuin Temple to make it the principal image. is. One day, when Amitabha was chanting a Buddhist memorial service beside the Amitabha statue, he heard a voice saying, "Amitabha," so when I looked up at the Amitabha statue, the face of the Amitabha statue turned toward the head of the Amitabha statue. It tilted to the left, and since then it has come to be called Amida in return. As an Amida Nyorai statue with the name of Amida in return like this statue, the wooden Amida Nyorai statue (produced in the Kamakura period) of Kyoto Zenrinji Eikando is famous, but similar examples are extremely rare. This statue was produced in the latter half of the Kamakura period. Lacquer foil (put gold leaf on top of lacquer) is applied from the face to the chest, and the pattern of the garment is cut metal (cut the gold leaf into a string and put it on the lacquer one by one to draw a pattern. That) is used to still leave a bright golden color. In particular, the kirikane pattern is very delicately applied, and the high technique of the creator is remembered along with the solid carving method found on the face and clothes. This statue was listed in the ward inhabitant cultural property ledger in 1990, but it has a unique image and you can see the advanced engraving technology of the latter half of the Kamakura period, so it was designated as a cultural property in the same year. have become.

I visited the rare Amitabha to worship, but it was after all. There is no signboard, and I have no intention of looking into the main hall. It's as if you're hiding that it's a temple. The Danka-only temple is no longer a temple, but a memorial facility ...