Stone Buddhas in Kannonbara - Kitaazumi District

It is a group of stone Buddha cultural assets designated by the village treasure. Like things of the Edo period, It seems that there are nearly 180 other than Kannon images of 33, West 33, and 34 Chichibu.

Like all the old roads in Japan, the Senkoku Highway gives the impression that it is a "prayer road". In particular, the region from Otari Village Chikuniko to Hakuba Village (formerly Chikuniko) seems to have spread widely and deeply to the Kannon Bodhisattva faith. Stone Buddha statues line up all over the road, many of which are Kannon statues. In search of merit, people asked masons to make Kannon statues for each house and dedicated them to the highways and key points of the village. In the latter half of the Edo period, there was a big boom in travel that combined faith and sightseeing, such as the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage Sacred Ground Henro and Ise Visit, but the road trips in each region also incorporated the customs of sacred ground pilgrimage and temple and shrine visits. It became. It seems that the custom, or traditional culture, continued until around 1965. After that, it was temporarily abandoned, but it seems that it has been gradually revived recently with the movement of preservation and restoration of "Shio no Michi". Kannonbara is a rectangular grassland about 40 meters north-south and about 80 meters east-west. On the western edge of this grassland, there are 33 statues of Kobo Daishi, 34 on the south side, 70 pebbles such as Hayagriva on the east side, and 33 on the north side, for a total of 187 stone Buddha statues. The swarms are arranged. The stone Buddha seems to include not only Kannon but also Tathagata and Bodhisattva, and may represent the mandala world arranged in a quadrilateral. After all, based on the Kannon belief of Senkokusho, it seems that each inhabitant made a stone Buddha and dedicated it. It is said that the stone Buddha rows have the 33 sacred sites of Bando on the north side, the 33 sacred sites of the West on the west side, and the 34 sacred sites of Chichibu on the south side. Is the eastern row a collection of local stone Buddha statues? When did the stone Buddha statues begin to be placed here? Visiting temples and shrines and pilgrimages to sacred sites became a custom at the earliest in the first half of the 19th century, and the Edo period is approaching the late period, so it seems that it was from that time to the Meiji period. But what was this meadow? Was it the site of an old temple or part of Kayaba? Since the important stone Buddhas are lined up, it is a place where you can feel the sacredness, and it can be inferred that there was something that was the object of worship.

It is a designated stone cultural property of Hakuba Village, where all the stone bodies of the Kannon Pilgrimage Sites in 33 places in Saigoku, 33 places in Bando, and 34 places in Chichibu are gathered together. It is a typical sacred place that shows the depth and spread of Kannon worship in Hakuba village. 33 Bando bodies are arranged on the north side, 33 bodies of Saigoku centering on the statue of Kobo Daishi on the west side, 34 bodies of Chichibu on the south side, and Hayagriva Kannon on the east side. A total of 187 stone Buddhas line up, with more than 70 bodies. The stone structures are carved in the shape of the principal image of each sacred place, and are lined up around a wide square Shibahara. The owner's name is engraved on each stone Buddha According to one theory, these stone Buddha statues are said to have been made by Takato Masonry. If you come by car from Itoigawa, turn right at the crossroads with Seven-Eleven, go for 2 to 3 minutes, proceed toward Iwatake Ski Resort, and it is located on the left side. is