勝念寺 かましきさん — Attraction in Kyoto

I stepped out of the South Gate of Keihan Tambabashi Station westward. After a couple of blocks, I turned right and then left into Tambabashi Street. There stood Shonen-ji Temple on my left.

The Fushimi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Shonen-ji Temple Shonen-ji Temple was founded by Priest Teian in 1587. The temple is known for its 3 deities.

A Statue of Emma, a Great King of the Buddhist Hades In the Tale of Heike Volume 6 Chapter 9, Priest Sonei was working for Seicho-ji Temple in Settsu Province. On December 25th, 1172, Sonei visited the Buddhist Hades to participate in the Buddhist rally hosted by the Great King, Emma. On the 26th, he came back to life and returned to this world with a wooden statue of Emma in his hand, which had been carved out of pine wood by Emma himself. Unlike other statues of Emma, it looks very merciful. Mercy and pity might be Emma’s true intentions. The adventure of the priest is narrated in minute detail in the Tale of Heike. Later, Sonei visited Ise Shrine, and died at Ueno, Iga Province, on his way back. Before his death, he put the Emma statue at the Ten-King Temple there and recited sutras in front of it. Ten-King temples enshrine 10 kings in hades: King Shinko, King Shoko, King Sotei, King Gokan, King Emma, King Henjo, King Taizen, King Byodo, King Toshi, and King Godotenrin. Centuries later, when Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) held falconry in Ueno, he found the statue and brought it back. According to the Chronicle of Oda Nobunaga, compiled in Edo period based on records by Ota Gyuichi (1527–1614), a warrior who followed Nobunaga, Nobunaga’s army suppressed Iga Province on September 11th,1581, and Nobunaga himself visited the province from October 9th to 12th. Priest Teian was born on March 7, 1539, in Kuronuma Village, Miura County, Sagami Province, as a son of Oe Masatoki. His mother, Nowaki, died when he was 4 years old, and his father was killed in battle next year. He was raised by Nowaki’s sister for a while, but sent to Dairen-ji Temple in Odawara at the age of 7. He shaved his head at the age of 11. He studied under Priest Gyoshin. When Gyoshin moved to Gugyo-ji Temple in Hitachi Province, he followed the priest. In 1573, he became the head priest of the temple. He happened to visit Saiko-ji Temple in Nanao, Noto Province, when Nagao Kagetora (1530-1578) started invading Noto Province. Teian fled to Tae-Kongo-ji Temple in Iba, Omi Province, in 1576. Meanwhile, Gugyo-ji Temple was burnt down in the other flames of war in 1577. In 1579, he took part in the Azuchi Religious Debate, which was hosted by Nobunaga, the ruler of Japan at the time, as one of the 4 members of one side. His team won in a spectacular fashion, and he won the trust of Nobunaga. He was given an estate in Azuchi, and established another Saiko-ji Temple there. On one of those days, Nobunaga gave Teian the Emma statue. Nobunaga was, however, killed in 1582. In 1583, Teian moved to Kyoto. Somehow or other, he was invited by Emperor Ogimachi (1517-1593) in 1585 to lecture on the Senchaku Hongan Nembutsushu, which is the magnum opus of Honen (1133-1212). Honen was the founder of the Pure Land Sect in Japan. He preached a sermon in the Imperial Palace next year. In 1587, the emperor gave the palace where Nobunaga’s eldest son, Nobutada (1557-1582), had committed hara-kiri suicide in 1582 to establish Daiun-in Temple. Teian also founded Shonen-ji Temple at the foot of Fushimi Castle, from where Toyotomi Hideyoshi was going to rule Japan. In 1615, Teian died, when the Tokugawa Clan wiped out the Toyotomi Clan. How many times did Teian virtually stand by the gate of the hades? How many times did he almost see Emma? Did Emma look as merciful and pitiful as the...

丹波橋駅から徒歩5分、萩の寺としても有名、20数種100株程有ります。この時期(9/26)は”萩ふるまい"として境内を開放、境内で観音様や七福神、お地蔵様やカエル等の石像巡りも出来ますよ。

天正15年(1587)戦国武将の信長が信頼した貞安上人が開創、本能寺の変で亡くなった信長親子を、正親町親王の勅命で、伏見にて弔えとの事で建立となる。当時、安土城下で宗派間の問答なるものが有り、勝利した貞安は、褒章として信長公より三体の仏像等、宝物を授かっているんだ。

その宝物、興味あらば10/4~5に特別公開が有ります。閻魔大王が自ら彫ったと伝わる「閻魔法皇自作霊像」チベットの仏様で女性の願い事を聞き届けてくれる「多羅観音菩薩像」そして、「門出八幡宮御神体」である。

因みに通称かしまきさんと呼ぶのは「釜敷地蔵尊」。お地蔵様の足元に釜を敷いて、地獄で釜茹でとなる人の身代りになり、厄除け、病除けになってくれるという。 その信仰が江戸時代から盛んになり、戦争の時代は「鉄砲除け地蔵」として、兵士が色紙をお守りにして出向いたという...

2019/09/22訪問。そうだ京都行こうのホームページで紹介されていて、前々から気になっていたので訪れました。拝観料は特に徴収されていませんので、お賽銭を用意しておきましょう。 前の週が迎称寺さんや真如堂さんで全然まだ咲いていなかったんですが、こちらは満開は過ぎた頃のように見受けますがまだ十分楽しめます。 京阪丹波橋駅から徒歩３分という町中ですが、門の中は一面の萩の花で埋め尽くされていて見事な景観です。頃合いが良かったのか萩の他に彼岸花や秋明菊なども見られ、少し前まで夏の暑さでばてていましたが一気に秋めいてきました。大分地面に紫や白の花も落ちてきていますが、境内のあちこちに蛙の像があって花と像との撮影を楽しめます。ただ、蚊が異様に多いので、虫除けや虫さされの薬は...