kyozuka sutra mound legends

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説 民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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kyozuka 経塚と伝説 Legends about a sutra mound

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A sutra mound (経塚, kyōzuka) is an archaeological site where sūtras were buried underground. In Japanese Buddhism, it is a type of good deed, and was done as a type of puja. ...
- History
For Japanese buildings, in 1007, Fujiwara no Michinaga built the oldest sutra mound at the summit of Kinpusen, a mountain range in Yamato Province. He did so because there was a sense of impending danger about the coming of mappō among the aristocracy, and he wanted to prepare for the coming of Maitreya and ensure that the sutras would be passed along to future generations.
In the middle of the 12th century, a monk who traveled around the country went around handing out copies of the sutras to the masses as a way of improving his spirit and puja.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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-- In various regions people chant a special spell invoking a deity, a strong giant or
a sutra mound （kyoozuka　京塚 Kyozuka) to make the earthquake stop soon.
. jishin　地震 Legends about Earthquakes .


- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :


......................................................................................... Chiba 千葉県
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nana kyoozuka 七経塚 seven sutra mounds
There were seven sutra mound called 七経塚 Nana Kyozuka, but people forgot where they were located.
But if the farmers sowed seeds aruond them, the plants would be dead dry at harvest time.
- There are other places where Nana Kyozuka are known, maybe a variant of the
Shichifukujin 七福神 Seven Gods of Good Luck.
Temple 龍経山妙正寺 Myosho-Ji is known for the Nana Kyozuka.
The legend dates back to 1260 and Saint Nichiren.
千葉県市川市北方町 4-2122 - reference : travel myoshoji-nakayama -




......................................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県
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四国中央市 Shikoku Chuo City 富郷町 Tomisato town

mayoke no kyoozuka 魔除けの経塚 sutra mound to ward of evil influence
On the road from 寒川 Samukawa to Tomisato there is 魔除けの経塚 a sutra mound to ward off evil.
After sunset this part of the road was very difficult to pass. Arount 1700 the ancestors of 松尾氏 the Matsuo clan erected this mound, burying many scrolls of the 般若経 Hanya Shingyo Sutra.
Through the power of these scriptures, the bad influence was subdued and people could now pass without fear or problems.
. Hanya Shingyo 般若心経 the Heart Sutra .




......................................................................................... Gifu 岐阜県
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揖斐郡 Ibi district 藤橋村 Fujibashi village

. yasha hebi 夜叉蛇 a demon serpent .




......................................................................................... Hiroshima 広島県
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三原市 Mihara city

. 経塚 "sutra mound" or 狂塚 "insanity mound" .




......................................................................................... Ishikawa 石川県
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鳳至郡 Fugeshi district 門前町 Monzen town

kyoozuka no matsu 経塚の松 the pine on the sutra mound
Near the kyozuka sutra mound at 暮坂 the Kuresaka slope in Susukino there was matsu 松の木 a pine tree. When they cut the tree down, blood began to flow from the cut of the tree.




......................................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県
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宮城郡 Miyagi district 利府町 Rifu town

Kariyasu Myojin 刈安明神 Kariyasu Myojin Deity
There was a swamp called 赤沼大明神 Akanuma Daimyojin where Suijin 水神 the Water Deity was venerated.
Once upon a time
a young female wandering ascet came to the village, wearing a crown, and asked to stay over night. but she could not find a villager to let her in, since she looked pregnant and ready to give birth.
The woman pleaded for a rest under the eaves outside. An old couple took pity and looked after her.
She gave birth beside the 経塚 sutra mound.
The child became a deity. Since it was born on a layer of Kariya grass, she got the name Kariyasu Myojin 刈安明神.
In this area grows a lot of high-quality Kariya grass and people use it to dye things yellow.
. kariyasu 刈安 (かりやす) Miscanthus tinctorius, kariya grass .




......................................................................................... Nagano 長野県

One of the seven wonders of Nagano:
A 経塚 sutra mound at the bottom of the lake, after the dragon had been exterminated.

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Nagano 南佐久郡 Minami-Saku district 小海町 Koumi town

. kyozuka no yoru no ame お経塚の夜の雨 rain in the evening at the sutra mound .

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Nagano 南佐久郡 Minami-Saku district 北相木村 Kita-Aiki village

Kumogafuchi no kyozuka くもが淵の経塚 Sutra mound at the Spider Riverpool
Upstream along 相木川 the river Aikigawa there is 白岩部落 a hamlet called Shiraiwa, where many fish lived.
Usually there were large spider webs and people did not go there.
But one day a man went there for fishing. The lord of the pool, 大蜘蛛 a huge spider, appeared, wound a thread around his leg and wanted to pull him inside. But thanks to his fishing rod being pulled in instead, the man was saved.
Afterthe villgers chanted Sutras by the riverside, the spider webs did not appear any more.
Now there is 経塚 a Sutra mound where they buried the scriptures to memorate the event.

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Nagano 下伊那郡 Shimoina district

. gorintoo 五輪塔 Gorinto grave marker with five layers .
When 五輪塔 the Gorinto grave marker of the temple was relocated, there was suddenly a lot of misfortune and illness at the temple.
When they asked a shaman for advise, they were told it was the curse of the Gorinto.
So they held special purifying rituals for the grave marker and all was well again.




......................................................................................... Nagasaki 長崎県
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対馬市 Tsushima city

. Yamanba, Yamauba 山姥 mountain hag .
At the 経塚 sutra mound there were two kyomon ishi 経文石 sutra stones.
When the old mountain hag tried to move one of them, it started to rain fire and water and a strong wind blew.
The stones are still on the mountain of 佐須村 Sasumura village.




......................................................................................... Okinawa 沖縄県
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那覇市 Naha city 首里区 Shuri ward

kyoozuka 京塚 Kyozuka (written with the character 京 for the capital.
. The Sutra Mound at Shuri castle .




......................................................................................... Tochigi　栃木県
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芳賀町 Haga town

. shirohebi 白蛇 White Serpent and Kukai Kobo Daishi .




......................................................................................... Tokushima 徳島県
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One of the seven wonders of Tokushima is the 経塚 Kyozuka, where the sutras copied by Kobo Daishi are buried.
. Kōbō Daishi Kūkai 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説　 Kobo Daishi Kukai Legends .




......................................................................................... Yamagata 山形県
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南置賜郡 Minami-Okitama district 中津川村 Nakatsugawa village

People should not climb on 経塚 the sutra mound.
The emperor 後醍醐天皇 Godaigo Tenno is said to be buried there.
On the mound grows misumigusa ミスミ草 liverwort, Hepatica nobilis.
This plant grows only in 佐渡 Sado Island in Japan.
. Godaigo 後醍醐天皇 Go-Daigo-Tennō (1288 - 1339) .


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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -

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. Kaido highway legends 街道と伝説 - - ABC list .

. animals and their legends 動物と伝説 - - ABC list .

. plants and their legends 　植物と伝説 - - ABC list .

. trees and their legends 　樹木, 木と伝説 - - ABC list .

. Persons, People, Personen and their legends - - ABC list .

. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -

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tsue staff of Kukai legends

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
. kataba no ashi, kataha no ashi 片葉の葦 One-sided Reed .
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tsue 杖と伝説 Legends about the walking staff of Kobo Daishi

. Kōbō Daishi Kūkai 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説　 Kobo Daishi Kukai Legends .
- Introduction -

He walked around in many parts of Japan and countless legends about his deeds and accomplishments are handed down.
Many legends deal with his walking staff from Gingko tree wood, 杖銀杏.
He also used various staffs and sticks from other material, even bamboo.



He would hit the ground with his staff to produce wells, springs and even hot springs.

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.......................................................................... Chiba 千葉県 ......................................
船橋 Funabashi

In former times there was a Dragon Shrine 龍神社 in the middle of the swamp. Kobo Daishi got rid of the reeds by hitting the with his staff, so now they are one-sided. He drained the swamp and now there are green fields.
There is a stone memorial in the place
弘法大師加持石芋片葉蘆之碑



. kataha no ashi, kataba no ashi 片葉の芦 One-sided Reed .



.......................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県 ......................................
今治市 Imabari 菊間町 Kikuma

In the compound of the temple 円福寺 Enpuku-Ji there is 青木の地蔵 "Aoki no Jizo", and next to it is a well called 青木の水 Aoki ni Mizu. The well was started by Kukai when hitting the ground with his staff and is also called
弘法大師御加持水, ritual water from Kobo Daishi or kusurimizu 薬水 "medicine water".
When he hit the ground, a well came forth and also a "green tree", maybe aoki, ミズキ Cornus controversa.



The water has healing powers for all kinds of diseases. And the Jizo is known for healing all kinds of diseases from the hips down the body.



.......................................................................... Gifu 岐阜県 ......................................

dakeishi ダケ石
There is a boulder which Kobo Daishi had touched with his staff. If people touch it now, they will hurt themselves.



.......................................................................... Iwate 岩手県 ......................................

Kobo Daishi rammed his 杖銀杏 walking staff from Gingko tree wood into the ground and a tree began growing. If women prayed here, they had enough milk to feed their babies.


.......................................................................... Kumamoto 熊本県 ......................................

The hot spring 杖立温泉 Tsuetate Onsen was founded by Kobo Daishi, when his bamboo staff took roots.
It is now called 逆杖の竹 "upside down bamboo staff".

- quote -
The Tsuetate-onsen Hot Springs, located on the border of Kumamoto and Oita prefectures in the middle of Kyushu ...
When Empress Shinko went on an expedition to Korea, she was pregnant with the child of Emperor Chuai who had just recently died. As soon as she retreated to Munakata in the Chikuzen region after the war, she went into labor. A gray old man then appeared and said to her, “Follow the river in a southeastern direction, and you will see a magical spring. Draw water from the spring, use it for your baby’s first bath, and it will extend the life of the Prince until he is 1000 years of age.” Then he disappeared. Hearing this message, her squire went over jagged mountains and found the steam coming off the spring in a big rocky cavern. He drew water from the spring, brought it to the Empress and dedicated it as her baby’s first bath. The Prince was born. 　It is believed that the Prince later became known as Emperor Ojin.
... the legend of Kobo Daishi ...
This story is the origin of the name Tsuetate (Tsue means a stick, tate means remain). Addition to this story, another origin is that the sick or elderly people visited the area with their sticks (tsue) for the hot spring cure, but they left (tate) their sticks after they took a bath.
- source : tsuetate-onsen.com-


.......................................................................... Nagano 長野県 ......................................
下伊那 Shimoi district

shio no i 塩の井 Shionoi, the Salt Well
The villagers in Shimoi were very poor. So Kobo Daishi struck the ground with his 銀杏の杖 staff of Gingko wood and opened a well sprouting salt water. Salt became the new income of the villagers.



.......................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県 ......................................
上都賀郡 Kamitsuga district 東大芦村 HigashiOashi

When Kobo Daishi Kukai visited 日光登山 Mount Nikko he planted his staff in the ground at Higashi Oashi village. It grew to a large keyaki 欅 Zelkova tree.



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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
58 to explore (01)

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. tsue 杖と伝説 Legends about the walking staff .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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keyaki zelkova tree legends

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keyaki 欅と伝説 Legends about the Zelkova tree

. keyaki karu 欅枯る（けやきかる）withering zelkova tree .
- kigo for all winter -


CLICK for more photos !
Keyaki is a very special tree, often venerated as a ritual tree of the gods, 欅神木 shinboku.

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Zelkova serrata (Japanese zelkova, Japanese elm or keyaki; Japanese: 欅 (ケヤキ) keyaki / 槻 (ツキ) tsuki)
is a species of flowering plant native to Japan, Korea, eastern China and Taiwan. It is often grown as an ornamental tree, and used in bonsai.
- more in the wikipedia -


. 箪笥 Tansu: Traditional Japanese Cabinetry .
Many are made of Keyaki wood.
The wood is very strong and was also suited for making wooden nails, which were used by the traditional carpenters.

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dotei no gyooja 土定の行者 / ドテイノギョウシャ an ascetic burried in the ground

In the autumn of 1817 a huge Keyaki tree suddenly fell down and in the hole in the ground a 石櫃 stone sacrophagus appeared. From inside there was a voice heard reciting the holy Sutras and ringing a bell. This must have been the Saint Ascetic who was burried there alive about 150 years earlier.
The long line of visitors coming here to pray lasted until the winter of that year.

. Sokushinbutsu 即身仏 the Living Mummies of Japan .
土定 (dojoo) - Others offered their life in a fire 火定 (kajoo) or in water 水定 (suijoo).

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.......................................................................... Aichi 愛知県 ......................................
北設楽郡 Kitashitara 設楽町 Shitara

穴瀧という瀑布があり、近くに大蛇の遊木と言われた大欅があった。ある時、ある男が大欅を切り倒そうとした。すると美女が現れて名残惜しそうに立っていた。男はそのまま仕事を続けていたが、ふと大蛇の化身ではないかと思いついた。急に戦慄を覚え家に逃げ帰ったが、病床に臥してそのまま死んでしまった。


.......................................................................... Akita 秋田県 ......................................

. Gyokuzooji 玉蔵寺 Gyokuzo-Ji .
The main hall has been erected in 1983, with stems from precious old keyaki zelkova trees 神代欅.



.......................................................................... Fukui 福井県
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. Yamanokami no yadorigi 山の神さんの宿り木 sacred tree for Yamanokami .
三方郡 Mikata district 美浜町 Mihama // 遠敷郡 Onyu district 名田庄村 Natasho

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今立郡 Imadate district 池田町　Ikeda

Daishogun no Mori 大将軍の森
There was a Zelkova tree surrounded with Tsuta ivy, venerated by a family nearby.
In 1951 this tree was felled and soon after the family died out.

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Once there was a Sake brewer in the village. At night, from the nearby Zelkova tree, a 天狗Tengu sneeked in with a paper lantern and begun to drink the new Sake, slurping happily. When the brewer heard this sound, ne knew that he had made a good rice wine that time and was grateful to the Tengu.

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遠敷郡 Onyu district 上中町 / 名田庄村 Natasho

tsurube otoshi 釣瓶落し "throwing a well-bucket"
Once there was a large Zelkova tree and when someone passed it by night, a well-bucket fell down from the tree top and hurt the person. So to our day it is called the "Well-Bucket Throwing Tree" and people do not dare to pass here at night.

tsurube otoshi is also a kigo for all autumn, referring to a fast sunset,
lit. "the sun goes down like a bucket in the well"
. nichibotsu　日没 sunset, evening sun .



CLICK for Keyaki trees from Fukui !




.......................................................................... Fukushima 福島県 ......................................
南会津郡 Minami Aizu district 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata

shihoogatame no ki 四方がための木 shiho-gatame, four trees to appease the four directions
and protect a village from evil influence. These trees are not to be cut.
If someone cuts them they will leek red blood and moan and groan like a wounded human.

In the East in the Keyaki tree 東にけやき.
南に唐松 South: Karamatsu - 北に黒松 North: Kuromatsu - 西に赤松 West: Akamatsu


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いわき市 Iwaki

Kuramochi Mishima Hachiman 蔵持三島八幡
蔵持に里という美しい少女（未亡人という説もあり）がいて、たそがれに軒端で歌っていた。その声に寄せられて毎夜同じ時刻に若者がたずねてきた。そのころ、村人が蔵持三島八幡境内にあるえのき（神白村ぼんてん山の大けやきという説も）を切り倒してお里の家の近くに橋をかける話をまとめた。毎夜お里を訪ねてきた若者は、悲しそうに今夜限りで会えないといって帰った。村人たちがその木を切ると、血が流れ出た。ようやく切り倒して運ぼうとしても動かない。お里を呼んで歌を歌わせ、音頭をとらせたら、木は自分から動き出した。その夜から若者の姿はみられなくなった。この橋を里也橋という。
.
さとや橋の南にあった大きなけやきの木を切って橋をかけようとすると、木から血が出て、倒すのに７日間もかかった。ところが重くて動かない。お里という女に木やり節を歌わせたら軽々運べた。

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大沼郡 Onuma district 金山町 Kaneya

八町のだだ坊 Hatcho no Dadabo Tanuki
At the local shrine of Hatcho village there lived a strange monster called Dadabo , which would often eat children. So the villagers asked 中井坊 the blind priest Nakai to drive away the monster.
The blind priest placed a すり鉢 mortar on his head, grabbed a howe and a mallet and went to the Shrine. He threw the monster into the mortar and hit it with the hoe and mallet until it begun to bleed and run away.
Next morning the villagers followed the blood and game to a hole under the Zelkova tree near the shrine. They found 古狸 a bleeding tanuki badger without much hair. They killed it and made some Tanuki soup out of the meat.
From that day on, the monster never showed up.

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田村郡 Tamura district 小野町 Ono

A few years go someone found a straw doll hammered into the stem of the Zelkova tree in the shrine compound. That is quite astonishing for our century.

. wara ningyoo 藁人形 straw dolls for curses .




.......................................................................... Gunma 群馬県 ......................................

上州一ノ宮貫前神社 Shinshu Ichi no Miya Nuisaki Jinja
敗戦近くの頃、上州一ノ宮貫前神社の欅の神木に蛙の形の茸が生え、神木に宿る軍神が怒って現れたものと言われた。さらに、大戦果時には大きくなり、玉砕などの時はしぼんだとか、敗戦直前には蛙に蛇が巻きついた形になったなどという話にまで発展した。




.......................................................................... Ibaraki 茨城県 ......................................

Once at 常陸 Hitachi a shabby looking monk begged at a home for a lodging, but was refused. When the master of the home later found out that it was Kobo Daishi, he climbed on a large 欅 zelkova tree and called out for the monk to come back.
弘法様よーい、弘法様よーい Kooboo sama yoooi, kooboosama yooi
Eventually the man turned into a 蝉 cicada calling ちばひめ chibahime.


source : otafuku.cocolog-nifty.com
若宮八幡宮の大けやき The Keyaki zelkova tree in the compound of the shrine Wakamiya Hachimangu in Hitachi Ota 常陸太田市.

It is said that to our day the cicadas of the region come to this tree on the 23rd of July (this is the day when Kobo Daishi is supposed to have passed here).

. Kōbō Daishi Kūkai 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説　 Kobo Daishi Kukai Legends .

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茨城町 Ibaraki Town

諏訪大社　Suwa Taisha 諏訪大社 Great Suwa Shrine
Near the keyaki 欅 zelkova tree at お諏訪様 the Suwa Shrine there was a huge lantern hanging down one day.
Some say it must have been a mujina むじな Tanuki. This was in early spring.
. Suwa Jinja 諏訪神社 Suwa Shrines and their Legends .

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tamase, hitodama 人魂
A bluish-white fireball 火の玉 fell down to the ground near a Zelkova tree.
The local folks called this tamase タマセ（魂) (tamashi) a soul.




.......................................................................... Ishikawa 石川県 ......................................
能美郡 Nomi district 川北村 Kawakita

Tengu 天狗
During the Meiji period, a boy named サク Saku got lost and was missing. His parents called out for two nights:
「鯖食うたサク」 saba kuuta saku
(Saku has been eating mackerels)
(It is said that the Tengu dislikes mackerels!)
And then found him sleeping in the store house.
He told them he had been caught by a Tengu and spent the time as prisoner in the branches of a Zelkova tree. Eventually the Tengu had let him down.

. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .

鯖 天狗 / 天狗は鯖が苦手 / 天狗の鯖ぎらい
Saba and Tengu comes with more legends on its own.
. saba 鯖と伝説 Legends about mackerel, Makrele .




.......................................................................... Iwate 岩手県 ......................................
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岩手県花巻市東和町北成島５－１ Hanamaki


source :　hidemichitanaka.net

成島毘沙門天 Narushima Bishamonten
The largest statue in Tohoku, made from one stem of keyaki wood, 4.73 meters high.
. Bishamon-Ten 毘沙門天 Bishamonten (Vaishravana) .




.......................................................................... Kyoto 京都府 ......................................

There is a keyaki 欅 zelkova tree in 亀岡市 Kameoka that was planted by Abe no Seimei.
If people want to cut it or hurt it, they will be cursed.
. Abe no Seimei 阿倍晴明 (921 - 1005) .




.......................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県 ......................................
黒川郡 Kurokawa district 大和町 Taiwa

kasa ni baketa mujina 笠に化けた狢
吉岡館主但木土佐より前の時代の話。宇古館地内に欅の大木があった。ある夜一人の若者がそこを通ると枝に饅頭笠が懸かっていたので，怪しんで笠の紐を掴み，地面に叩き付けるとそれは笠に化けた狢であった。亡骸を埋めた所を近年までキンタマ塚などと呼んでいたが，今は自衛隊キャンプ敷地になっている。

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仙台市 Sendai 青葉区 Aoba

Tennozuka 天皇塚 Mound of the Emperor
On a hill near the 阿弥陀堂 Amidado hall there were the huge roots of a Zelkova tree. People say that the gibutsu 御物 imperial treasures of 安徳天皇 Antoku Tenno are burried here.
Many woman come here to pray for an easy birth.

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柴田郡 Shibata district 村田町

Yamato Takeru 日本武尊
At the shrine Shirotori Jinja 白鳥神社の祭神は日本武尊。境内に、今も二条の大藤がからみつく大欅がある。源頼義父子は前九年の役に際してこの境内に宿陣し、夢に祭神が現れ大勝した。戦いの初め、官軍が苦戦した時、この藤が二頭の大蛇となって敵を敗走させたという。

. Yamato Takeru 日本武尊 / 倭健命 - Introduction .




.......................................................................... Nagano 長野県 ......................................
東筑摩郡 Higashichikuma district 麻績村 Omi

At the shrine of the hamlet Kanori 叶里のお宮 there is a Zelkova tree that should not be cut down.
But then a villager tried to cut it down anyway. The tree begun to bleed red blood and the man died soon.

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北佐久郡 Kitasaku district 立科町 Tateshina

kimon yoke no keyaki 鬼門除けのけやき
The Zelkova tree between the Hachiman shrine and the Myojin Shrine is supposed to ward off evil. Once three farmers said they could not pass there with their horses and tried to uproot the tree by pulling it sown with ropes. All three of them soon died at a young age.

. kimon 鬼門 "Demon Gate" in the Northern direction .




.......................................................................... Nagasaki 長崎県 ......................................
対馬市 Tsushima

o hideri sama オヒデリ様
氏神の維持金を捻出するためにオヒデリ様（神無月の間の留守番の神様）の山の一部と大欅を売ったら、区長の次男の足が悪くなって立てなくなった。責祈祷をすると上手くいかなかったが、後で和尚に神様が乗りうつり、欅の木を売ったせいだということがわかった。代わりに欅を植えたが、次男は死んでしまった。




.......................................................................... Okayama 岡山県 ......................................

. Nakayama Jinja 中山神社 .




.......................................................................
阿哲郡 Atetsu district 神郷町 Shingo

yashikigami 屋敷神
備中北部の神郷町の8ヶ村を支配する庄屋の家の西に接する山裾には、欅造りの荒神祠がある。そこに祀られている荒神はもとは庄屋の屋敷神であったが、今では牛の加護を祈るものとなっている。
.
阿哲郡神郷町三ヶ市の荒神は、欅の大木の下に祠があり、部落の者みんなで祀っている、この部落の氏神は国司様であり、子供の宮参りにはこちらに参り、荒神には参らない。




.......................................................................... Saitama 埼玉県 ......................................

. Enoki and yao bikuni 八百比丘尼 a nun for 800 years . .




.......................................................................... Shizuoka 静岡県 ......................................
庵原郡 Ihara district 両河内村 Ryogochi

Once the farmers wanted to cut down a large Zelkova tree in the forest. A nearby 藤 wisteria tree became so sad about the loss of its companion that it was howling and then begun to have blossoms, right in the middle of winter. The owner of the tree wrote a peaceful Waka poem on a slip of decorative paper and fixed it to the wisteria tree. The wiseria then stopped flowering and they could finish their work.
Yama no Kami 山の神, the deity of the mountain, had become angry, the farmers thought.




.......................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県 ......................................
上都賀郡 Kamitsuga district 東大芦村 HigashiOashi

When Kobo Daishi Kukai visited 日光登山 Mount Nikko he planted his staff in the ground at Higashi Oashi village. It grew to a large Zelkova tree.




.......................................................................... Tokyo 東京都 ......................................
八王子市 Hachioji

namakubi 生首 the cut-off head
In former times, when the 滝山城 Takiyama Castle was lost, the cut-off head of the Lord of the castle rolled down to the Zelkova tree and then jumped up to bite in the head of the victorious Samurai.
Since then the soul of the cut-off head resides in the Zelkova tree and sometimes comes down to bite people.
Once the head bit a man into the leg and the scars were seen and never healed. A learned man said it was the Yokai monster Jinmensoo 人面瘡 Jinmenso and suggested to offer it some おにぎり rice balls to eat every day. And indeed, after two months, the wound healed.



source : てくてくお気楽ダイアリー

jinmenso 人面瘡 - a supernatural tumor with a human face

- - - - - Not related, it seems, but interesting is the legend of

Jinmenju 人面樹　– The Human Face Tree
This tree is found in mountain valleys. The fruit of the tree looks like a human head. It doesn’t say a word, but it is constantly laughing. It is said that if the fruit laughs too heartily, it falls from the tree.
- source : hyakumonogatari.com　- Zack Davisson -

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. Nerima 練馬区 and the shrine 白山神社 Hakusan Jinja .




.......................................................................... Toyama 富山県 ......................................
東礪波郡 Higashitonami district 平村 Taira

Once a 天狗 Tengu lived in a large Zelkova tree with two stems. When he went out to work he prayed to the tree to let him go safely. When he came back at night he gave thanks in prayer with folded hands.


keyaki with two stems 双幹 / 二股に分かれた幹


吉田神社の欅 - 長野県長野市吉田１丁目 / Yoshida Shrine, Nagano

- Check out this page with many special Keyaki trees:
- source : azumauta.web.fc2.com/kengai-

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中新川郡 Nakaniigawa district 上市町 Kamiichi

daija 大蛇 huge serpent
滝橋集落の青どろという淵に、深い洞が２つあって、大蛇が棲んでいた。大蛇は女の子に化けて、欅の木の下によく出た。ある人が大蛇の化けた女に「一番嫌いなものは何だ」と訊いたら、「タバコのヤニだ」と答えたので、タバコのヤニを取って手桶に入れて大蛇の化けた女に掛け、「俺は大判小判が嫌いだ」と叫んで逃げ出した。その晩、大蛇は仕返しに男の家に大判小判を投げ込み、男は長者になった。




.......................................................................... Tottori　鳥取県 ......................................

. Nagata Jinja 長田神社 .






.......................................................................... Wakayama 和歌山県 ......................................

Once there was a Zelkova tree of more then 2000 years (樹齢数千年の欅).
But one day the villagers tried to cut it down. That night 怪僧 an strange monk appeared and killed all men who had helped.
This Zelkova tree is the seat of a great deity 大神様, where the God comes to rest.




.......................................................................... Yamanashi 山梨県 ......................................
富士吉田市 Fujiyoshida

ジュウバコタタキ，ゴロチ
舟久保泰明氏の生まれたうちにはかつて月の木とよばれる欅の木があった。その木にジュウバコタタキだとかゴロチとかいう鳥か獣が来たといって、「ジュウバコがくるぞ」とか、「ジュウバコが縄を下ろしてひもひき上げちまうぞ」などとおどかされた。

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北杜市 Hokuto

meoto keyaki 夫婦欅 "husband and wife Zelkova"
At the Suwa Jinja shrine of 日野春村長坂上條村社 there are two Zelkova trees. The one on the left side is the 婦木 Wife, the larger one on the right is the 夫木 Husband.
The bark of the Husband Tree is very rough with many warts. People come here to wipe the warts with a 紙縒 paper string, and then their own イボ warts, to make them go away.

日野春村長坂上條村社の諏訪神社に夫婦欅とよばれるケヤキがある。社殿の右を夫木、社殿の左を婦木といい、夫木の表皮には多数の突起が疣状についている。紙縒をこの突起に結ぶとイボが治ると言われている。

- - - - -There are other trees of this kind


CLICK for more photos !
meoto keyaki 夫婦欅 "husband and wife Zelkova"


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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
27 to explore ケヤキ (00)

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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- - - - - HAIKU 俳句 - - - - -

葉を脱いで欅すらりと月の中
ha o nuide keyaki surarito tsuki no naka

Having shed its leaves
the zelkova stands svelte
in the moonlight
Tr. Hiroaki Sato

. Tada Chimako 多田智満子 (1930 - 2003) .

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仙台 ケヤキ並木 The famous Keyaki Road in Sendai, Miyagi


CLICK for more photos !

仙台の欅を慕いわたしは水
Sendai no keyaki o shitai watashi wa mizu

渋谷道 Shibuya Michi (1926 - )

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初冬の好日欅一樹立ち
松村蒼石

千年の杉や欅や滝の音
草間時彦

八幡宮夏至の欅が亭々と
高澤良一

- MORE haiku about the Keyaki tree:
- reference : haikureiku database -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #keyaki #zelkova -
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. Legends about trees - - 木と伝説 .

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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tokko dokko Vajra Thunderbolt legends

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

tokko 独鈷 と伝説 Legends about the Vajra Thunderbolt

tokko, dokko, toko, doko 独鈷 / 獨鈷 / とっこ single-pointed Vajra, single-pointed "Thunderbolt", Donnerkeil
kongoosho 金剛鈷

. tokko, dokko 独鈷 Thunderbolt, Vajra .
- Introduction -



(kongoosho 金剛鈷, kongoochisho, kennesho, basara) Donnerkeil, Vajra
(tokkosho, dokkosho 独鈷杵, toko; S: ekasuucika vajra, dokosho) - Einspitziger Vajra
Donnerkeil mit drei Spitzen (sankosho; S: tri-sanku) - Dreispitziger Vajra
(gokosho, 五鈷杵 gohoo kongoo, gochi koomyoohoosho ; S: panca-suucika vajra, panca sanku) Fünfspitziger Vajra.
(kukosho　九鈷杵) Neunspitziger Vajra
- and many other variations.




- - - - - Many legends and tales about the Tokko are related to
. Kōbō Daishi Kūkai 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説　 Kobo Daishi Kukai .

Hitting the ground to produce a healing spring or well produces
dokkozui, dokkosui (dokko mizu) 独鈷水　/ ドッコ水, also read
O-koozui 独鈷水（おこうずい）"Vajra Water"
O-Koozui お香水 O-Kozui, "fragrant water"



. sanko-ken 三鈷剣 "three-pronged vajra sword" .
attributed to Fudo Myo-O　不動明王



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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.......................................................................... Chiba 千葉県 ............................
館山市 Tateyama

. En-no-Gyôja 役行者 En no Gyoja (Jimpen Dai-Bosatsu) . - (634 - 706)
En-no-Ozuno 役小角

At the temple Yoorooji 養老寺 Yoro-Ji thre is a special spring, the 独鈷水 Tokkozui, which never dries out, even in the worst drought.
Once En no Gyoja came to this area on this way from 大島 Oshima and hit the ground with his magic 独鈷 Tokko .


.......................................................................... Fukushima 福島県 ............................
いわき市 Iwaki

At the 薬師堂 Yakushi Hall of 閼伽井薬師 Akai Yakushi

there is a stone in the form of a 独鈷 Tokko, which looks very much like the real thing. But now it is not there any more.
There is also a well (Akai 閼伽井) where Kobo Daishi had hit with his 独鈷 Tokko to produce healing water for eye diseases.

. Joofukuji 常福寺 Jofuku-Ji .
Akaidake Yakushi 閼伽井嶽薬師/ Akaidake Fudo 赤井嶽不動

.......................................................................
二本松市 Nihonmatsu

In former times there was no well in the region, but then came Kobo Daishi, hit the ground with his 独鈷 Tokko and produced water for all in the village.
In some parts of the waterways there are now snakes.


.......................................................................... Hyogo 兵庫 ............................

. Dokkosan 独鈷山, Kaburaiji 鏑射寺 Kaburai-Ji .
Dokko Mizu no Ido 独鈷水の井戸 Kukai Kobo Daishi passed here and dug the well.


.......................................................................... Kagawa 香川県 ............................
さぬき市 Sanuki

. Ookuboji　大窪寺　Okubo-Ji .
The last one of the 88 Henro Pilgrimage.

When Kobo Daishi passed here, he hit a rock with his 唐伝来の独鈷 Tokko from China and indeed, fresh water came forth.


.......................................................................... Kyoto 京都府 ............................

Yokoku Kannon no O-koozui 柳谷観音の独鈷水（おこうずい）"Vajra Water"

. Yookokuji 楊谷寺 Yokoku-Ji .
長岡京市浄土谷堂ノ谷2　 Donotani-2 Jododani, Nagaokakyo, Kyoto

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Tokonagesan Senjuji 獨鈷抛山千手寺 Mount Tokonage-San, Senju-Ji
- 薭田野町鹿谷大タワ７ / 7 Otawa, Rokuya , Hiedano-cho, Kameoka
Rokuya (Valley of the White Deer)



On his way to China, Kukai Kobo Daishi's boat was in great distress and he mad a vow to carve a statue of Kannon with Thousand Arms, if he could return safely to Japan. On the way back he threw his vajra scepter 独鈷 Tokko (Dokko) in the air praying for a place to start his new temple in Japan. Back in Japan he stayed some time at the shrine 春日大社 Kasuga Taisha. The Deity 春日明神 Kasuga Myojin revealed to him that the Tokko had stopped in 丹波国山内庄 Tanba, so he should go there fast and carve the Kannon with 1000 Arms, then the Deity would show him the way.
When Kobo Daishi came to the Tamba region a white deer (messenger of the Kasuga Deity) and showed him the way to the valley. There hang his Tokko in the branches of a pine tree and light shone far and wide. So without delay he carved the Kannon and founded this temple. This is how it got its name.
The Tokko then took off to reach Mount Koyasan (see below).

The Kannon with 1000 Arms of this temple cures eye diseases. The water of the temple well can be used to wash an eye disease away. It is called O-Koozui お香水 O-Kozui, fragrant water.
This cure is especially powerful on the 17th of April and July, when a visit to the temple will count as 1000 days visiting 千日参 sennichi mairi.
The legend knows this about the spring:
Once there was a sparkling light every night in this region, maybe the spook of a fox or tanuki badger, the farmers were worried and one of them shot an arrow in the direction. He felt a hit and went looking. The found the arrow and a bloody trail to the temple Senju-Ji, where he saw that the left eye of the Kannon Statue was bleeding. He pulled the arrow out of her eye and made a vow never to use bow and arrow again.
Soon after this the spring of the "Fragrant Water" begun flowing in the temple compound, healing all kinds of eye disease.

- - - HP of the temple
- source : odn.ne.jp/tokonage_san -

. ganbyoo chiyu kigan 眼病治癒祈願 prayer for healing of eye disease .

. senju Kannon 千手観音 Kannon Bosatsu with 1000 arms .



.......................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県 ............................
角田市 Kakuda 小田 Oda

Kannon Dokko Mizu 観音独鈷水 Dokko Water and Kannon Bosatsu

The Kannon of Mount Tokura 斗蔵山 produced a clear well, お授け清水 O-Sazuke Shimizu,
when Kukai Kobo Daishi passed there.



Tokuraji 安狐山 斗蔵寺 Ankosan Tokura-Ji
宮城県角田市小田斗蔵９５ / Tokura-95 Oda, Kakuda-shi, Miyagi
The Kannon Hall was built in 807 by
. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro 坂上田村麻呂 (758 - 811) .
to house a special bronze statue of a Kannon with 1000 Arms.
In the same year Kobo Daishi passed by and praized the statue as a place with no second in the Northern Region:
紫雲天になびき　奥州無二の霊地なり
- Look at the statue here:
- source : city.kakuda.miyagi.jp/syoko -

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仙台市 Sendai

Kooboo shimizu 弘法清水 "Fresh Water from Kobo Daishi"
In former times the area around Sendai had very poor water distribution.
Once Kobo Daishi passed here and asked an old woman in a poor farmhouse for a drink. The woman had to walk quite a way to fetch some water for the monk. He was very greatful for her deed and produced a spring beside her home. But now it has dried out.

There are other wells and springs related to Kobo Daishi in Miyagi:
弘法清水 Kobo Shimizu （仙台市若林区六丁ノ目）
毬清水 Mari Shimizu （仙台市太白区鉤取栗木)
弘法井 Kobo I （石巻市田代島大泊松盛院）
弘法独鈷水 Kobo Dokkosui（桃生郡河南町北村高福寺)
弘法水 Kobo sui （名取市秋保野尻）


.......................................................................... Nagano 長野県 ............................

Tokkosan 独鈷山 Mount Tokko San
Koizumi Kotaro 小泉小太郎 / Izumi Kotaro 泉小太郎 (Izumi no ko, Taro)

A young priest was studying an Mount Tokkosan, and a beautiful girl came to visit him regularly. But he became suspicious and followed her to the riverside 鞍ケ淵, where she turned into a 大蛇 huge serpent (other sources quite a dragon). In due time the serpent gave birth to a boy and died.
The boy was picked up by an old hag (Tatsu) who named him
Koizumi Kotaro. The boy grew up to be a strong warrior.

龍の子太郎 Tatsu no Ko Taro
A novel, manga and movie telling his story.



- quote -
Taro, the Dragon Boy by Miyoko Matsutani
... In the distant past of Japan a lazy and selfish Taro loves to eat and sleep and wrestle with the animals. With no direction in his life, a Tengu appears that gives him a special potion. With this potion, he gains the strength of a hundred men - but he can only use it when he is helping others. After drinking the potion, Taro, day by day, begins to understand what it means to help others, ...
... his mother, Tatsu, now lives. Tatsu tells Taro why she was transformed, as a mother heavy with child fulfilling her duties to her unborn child, she needed to eat, but neglecting her duties to the rest of her village, she left nothing of her catch for the other workers. ...
- source : wikipedia -


CLICK for more photos and toys with Kotaro !


Kotaro no Haha, Tatsu 小太郎と母龍
Similar legend from 千曲（ちくま）の湖 the lake Chikuma in 信濃 Shinano.
- source : nihon.syoukoukai.com/modules/stories -



source : daiya.co.jp/blog


.......................................................................... Nara 奈良県 ............................
御所市 Gose

. En-no-Gyôja 役行者 En no Gyoja (Jimpen Dai-Bosatsu) . - (634 - 706)
En-no-Ozuno 役小角

When En no Gyoja practised austerities at 葛城山 Mount Katsuragisan at age 17, he was tempted by a beautiful woman. When he hit her with his 独鈷杵 (とこしょ) Tokosho the vanished, leaving behind a bad smell. When he followed the smell in a South-Western direction, he came to a pond and saw her turn into a 大蛇 large serpent. When he tried to fight with her, The Deity of Kamo Ducks 鴨の神 came to his help and drove her away. So this area is now called
Oitsuki no Mori 追付の森 "Forest of Pursuit"
and the deity venerated there is
Oitsuki Daimyoojin 追付大明神 Oitsuki Daimyoji.


Shrine 追着神社 Oitsuki Jinja



.......................................................................... Shiga 滋賀県 ............................

Ikagu Jinja 伊香具神社 - Dokko sui 「独鈷水（ドッコ水）」

Kobo Daishi produced a spring with clear water.
It is a special water source to our day.

滋賀県長浜市木之本町大音 / 688 Kinomotocho Ooto, Nagahama, Shiga


source : 家庭菜園の番人日記



.......................................................................... Shizuoka 静岡県 ............................

. Shuuzenji 修善寺 Shuzen-Ji .
Hitting the rocks with his tokko 独鈷 Vajra, Kobo Daishi produced a hot spring to heal all kinds of illnesses, Tokko no yu 独鈷の湯 Tokko Hot Spring.


.......................................................................... Tokyo / Edo　東京　江戸 ............................
目黒 Meguro

. Meguro Fudo Myo-O 目黒不動 .
Ennin hit the ground with his Tokko and produced a spring with fresh water.

. Ennin 円仁 -　Jigaku Daishi 慈覚大師 . (794 – 864)

.......................................................................
台東区下谷 Shitaya - 清水稲荷 Kiyomizu Inari

Parents of a child which was very ill prayed to Kukai for help. So he hit the ground with his tokko 独鈷 Vajra and a well begun flowing out with healing water.


.......................................................................... Wakayama 和歌山県 ............................


higyoo no sankoshoo 飛行三鈷杵 The flying Vajra
三鈷金剛杵
It flew all the way to Mount Koyasan.
Part of the story has been told above, at Kyoto, Mount Tokonage-San, Senju-Ji .

Sanko no matsu 三鈷の松 The Pine and the three-pronged Vajra, Trident Pine
To our day it has some pine needles with three needles.
三鈷の松の葉

michibiki inu 導き犬
Two dogs let Kobo Daishi to the right place, sent by the deity 丹生都比売神 or 狩場明神.

. Koya San in Wakayama 高野山　和歌山県 .
On returning to Japan, Kobo Daishi Kukai looked for the sankosho and finally found it hanging on a pine tree in Koyasan in the year 816. After more than 1,200 years, the pine tree is still revered by monks and visited by many tourists daily.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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Emon Saburo

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. Persons of the Heian Period (794 to 1185) .
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Emon Saburoo, Emon Saburō 衛門三郎 Emon Saburo
and the beginning of o-settai, settai 摂待

- quote -
a legendary figure of early ninth-century Japan associated with Kūkai and the Shikoku Henro 88 temple pilgrimage.

Legend
A mendicant visited the house of Emon Saburō, richest man in Shikoku, seeking alms. Emon refused, broke the pilgrim's begging bowl, and chased him away with a broom.



After his eight sons fell ill and died, Emon realized that Kūkai was the affronted pilgrim and set out to seek his forgiveness. Having travelled round the island twenty times clockwise in vain, he undertook the route in reverse.
Finally he collapsed exhausted and on his deathbed Kūkai appeared to grant absolution. Emon requested that he be reborn into a wealthy family in Matsuyama so that he might restore a neglected temple. Dying, he clasped a stone. Shortly afterwards a baby was born with his hand grasped tightly around a stone inscribed "Emon Saburō is reborn."


source :　David on facebook
- - - This is the rock (5.4cm). - At Temple 51.

When the baby grew up, he used his wealth to restore the Ishite-ji (石手寺) or "stone-hand temple", in which there is an inscription of 1567 recounting the tale.



Monuments
Emon Saburo's grave is beside the path between Temple 11 and Temple 12, at the spot where he fell. Near Temple 46 there is a burial mound said to contain his eight sons. At Ishite-ji there is a casket containing the eponymous stone.

Interpretation
The legend supports a number of practices of the Shikoku pilgrimage:
it encourages the custom of osettai or alms; suggests wealth should be spent endowing temples; gives an origin for the practice of reverse circuits of the island; and promises absolution for pilgrims.
- source : wikipedia -




衛門三郎と弘法大師（
at Tsuesugi-An 杖杉庵）
- source : Japanese wikipedia -


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Monju-in, the 9th Bangai Temple in Shikoku

It was from here that Emon Saburo began his pilgrimage in search of Kukai....



- source : ojisanjake.blogspot.jp -


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. Ishiteji 石手寺 Ishite-Ji .

. o-settai, settai 摂待 giving alms to Henro pilgrims .
kado-cha 門茶 "tea at the gate", giving tea as alms at the temple gate

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- Reference in Japanese -

- Reference in English - Emon Saburo -



source :　facebook

the "Shikoku Pilgrimage Community Salon" (Ohenro Koryu Salon),
located between Temple 87 and 88 in Kagawa prefecture.
- source : www.topia.ne.jp -

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. Shikoku Henro Temple List .

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Kobo Daishi Legends

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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Kōbō Daishi Kūkai 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説　 Kobo Daishi Kukai Legends
(774-835) Kooboo Daishi Kuukai
お大師様 O-Daishi-sama, Henjō-Kongō 遍照金剛 Henjo Kongo

Founder of Shingon 真言 Japanese Esoteric Buddhism.

He walked around in many parts of Japan and countless legends about his deeds and accomplishments are handed down.
Most ubiquitous are the tales about wells, springs and ponds associated with Kukai.
Sometimes he even stopped or destroyed the water supply of an area, if the villagers were not kind to him, the poor monk.

. Kobo Daishi, Kukai 弘法大師　空海 - . (774-835) .




Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage 四国お遍路さん Henro Pilgrims in Shikoku
. Shikoku Henro Temple List .
Here you find legends related to this pilgrimage and its temples.


tokko, dokko, toko, doko 独鈷 / 獨鈷 / とっこ single-pointed Vajra, single-pointed "Thunderbolt"
. tokko 独鈷 と伝説 Legends about the Vajra Thunderbolt .
from Fukushima, Hyogo, Kagawa, Kyoto, Miyagi, Shizuoka, Tokyo.


Other legends deal with his walking staff from Gingko tree wood, 杖銀杏 or other material:
. tsue 杖と伝説 Legends about the walking staff of Kobo Daishi .

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. Amanojaku 天邪鬼 "heavenly evil spirit " - Legends .
Most are explanations about local geological formations of rocks and boulders:
Zaimoku-Iwa 材木岩 - Timber Rocks, Gifu, 上宝村 Kamitakaramura, 双六 Sugoroku village
Hashigui-iwa　橋杭岩 Hashigui Rocks "Bridge Post Rocks", Wakayama
仙人岳 Mount Senningatake, Yamagata, 湯殿山の滝壷 Waterfall of Yudonoyama


. Emon Saburō 衛門三郎 Emon Saburo .
and the beginning of o-settai 摂待 alms for the Shikoku Henro pilgrims

. Fudo Myo-O and Namikiri Fudo 波切不動 .
How Kobo Daishi found Mount Koyasan　高野山, Wakayama.

. Megane Kobo めがね弘法 with glasses / 身代わり大師 Migawari Daishi .

. shibugaki 渋柿 and amagaki 甘柿 - bitter and sweet persimmons .

. unagi うなぎ /　鰻 と伝説 Legends about the eel .

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- - - - - Legends from the prefectures - ABC-List - - - - -




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Ehime 愛媛県 - - - - -

祝森 Iwainomori
地蔵菩薩 Jizo Bosatsu and Seimen Kongo 青面金剛
In the hamlet 柿の木部落 Kakinoki (Persimmon Tree) there were two brothers. THe elder brother believed in 地蔵菩薩 Jizo Bosatsu, the younger one in 青面金剛 Seimem Kongo.
弘法大師がやってきて兄弟に感心し、それぞれ仏像を刻んだ。後世、松が鼻に地蔵堂を、松尾坂麓に青面金剛の堂を作った。乱世で失ったが、その後北宇和群広見町深田の庄屋河野勘兵衛通行が松が鼻で石を枕に寝ていると夢地蔵菩薩が現れ、掘り出して供養すれば婦人のお産を安泰にする、と告げたので掘り出して祀った。これが現在の子安地蔵である。その後再び夢のお告げと二匹の猿の導きで松尾坂の青面金剛も掘り出し、お堂を造り祀った。これが現在の庚申堂である。


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Aichi 愛知県 - - - - -

. migawari Daishi 身代わり大師 Kobo Daishi substitutes for us .
in a traffic accident on the 中国道 Chugoku road




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Fukui 福井県 - - - - -

. 三つの岩穴 a rock with three holes .
for : 酢 vinegar, 酒 sake and 醤油 soy sauce.




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Fukushima　福島県 - - - - -

Beronaga べろ長 "the long tongue"
Taming a monster in Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima

. Nekomadake 猫魔岳 and Neko-Ishi 猫石 the Cat Boulder .
Kobo Daishi banning a monster cat.

. Taishi-Do 太子堂 Hall and statue with one eye .

. Yamamoto Fudo Son 山本不動尊 - Fukushima .
Founded in 807 when Kobo Daishi passed here and held a ceremony to appease the demons of the Yamizo mountains 八溝山.

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Inawashiroko 猪苗代湖 Lake Inawashiro-Ko

Once a poor farm girl fave all the water there was to a thirsty begging monk (Kukai). And from the next morning, the water from 磐梯山 Mount Bandaisan flew all the way to her village.

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Jaoigataki, ja-oi-ga-taki　蛇追ヶ滝 Jaoigataki Waterfall

Kobo Daishi passed here and exorcised a huge serpent from the waterfall. Nearby is now a temple in honor of Fudo Myo-O.
. . . CLICK here for Photos of the waterfall!

. Waterfalls named "Fudo no Taki" 不動の滝 .




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Gunma 群馬県 - - - - -

. Kukai at 榛名山 Mount Harunayama (1,449 m) .




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Hyogo 兵庫県 - - - - -

People from the island 淡路島 Awajishima did not give him any water, so he made the wells dry out.




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Ibaraki 茨城県 - - - - -

Once at 常陸 Hitachi a shabby looking monk begged at a home for a lodging, but was refused. When the master of the home later found out that it was Kobo Daishi, he climbed on a large 欅 zelkova tree and called out for the monk to come back.
弘法様よーい、弘法様よーい Kooboo sama yoooi, kooboosama yooi
Eventually the man turned into a 蝉 cicada calling ちばひめ chibahime.


source : otafuku.cocolog-nifty.com
若宮八幡宮の大けやき The Keyaki zelkova tree in the compound of the shrine Wakamiya Hachimangu in Hitachi Ota 常陸太田市.

It is said that to our day the cicadas of the region come to this tree on the 23rd of July (this is the day when Kobo Daishi is supposed to have passed here).




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Ishikawa 石川県 - - - - -

In the village of 能美 Nomi, villagers did not give him any of their precious water to drink.
Since then everywhere the villagers dug for water, it had a strong mineral-iron taste.

. Kobo Daishi at 岩動山 Mount Sekidosan, 広済寺 Temple Kosai-Ji. .




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Iwate 岩手県 - - - - -

In a home he was served bitter warabijiru 蕨汁 bracken fern soup,
so he taught the farmer how to make this soup with a sweet taste 甘蕨.




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Kagawa 香川県 - - - - -

. Yashima 屋島寺 and the 血の池 Chinoike Blood Pond .




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Kumamoto 熊本県 - - - - -

In the village of 下益城 Shimomashiki there was a hot spring pond, but when Kobo Daishi passed here, an old woman lied to him, telling him it was just plain water. From that day on, indeed, the pond turned into a water pond.




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Kyoto 京都府 - - - - -

Dai Birushana Kyoo 大毘盧遮那経 Mahāvairocana Sūtra
The mother of Kukai had a vision that a monk had come all the way from Tenjiku 天竺 India and then she got pregnant.
When her son, Kukai, practised the rituals of the Shobo 正法 "True Law", he saw the name of a sutra called 大毘盧遮那成仏神変加持経 Dai Birushana Jobutsu Jinben Kaji Kyoo and eventually got this sutra in China. Back home he had an audience with 嵯峨天皇 Saga Tenno, when his body sent out the five ritual colors of Buddhism and he looked like Birushana Buddha himself. This was his way of showing his human body in eternal bliss (sokushin jobutsu 即身成仏).

Dai Birushana Kyo 大毘盧遮那経 Mahāvairocana Sūtra //Dainichikyoo 大日経
- - - - - Mahavairocana Tantra / Mahāvairocana Sūtra
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Kyoto 東大和市 Higashi-Yamato city

. Gyoki Bosatsu 行基菩薩 and Senju Kannon .

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Kyoto 亀岡市 Kameoka in the Tanba region (Tamba)

One legend about shibugaki 渋柿 bitter persimmons, see above.

Kobo Daishi
came to a farmhouse at the river 犬飼川 Inukaigawa and asked for some water, but they gave him none. From that time on, the water of the river ceased to flow along there.

Kobo Daishi
came to the hamlet 穴太 Ano in 曽我部村 Sokabe village and asked for a cup of water, but they gave him none. From that time on, the water of the river became very dirty.

Once
there lived a dirty priest along the fiver Anagawa. Once a woman washed her vegetables further down the river, but just then the dirty priest begun to wash his 手拭 towel. The woman got angry at the priest, but he left without saying a word. Since then, people wonder if this might have been Kobo Daishi.
Anyway, since that event, the clear water in the hamlet stopped flowing.

Tokko legend, see above


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Osaka 大阪府 - - - - -

. A letter for the Dragon Palace 竜宮 .




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Shizuoka 静岡県 - - - - -

Tokko no yu 独鈷の湯




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Tochigi　栃木県 - - - - -
芳賀町 Haga town

shirohebi 白蛇 White Serpent

At the temple there is a stone memorial of one ken wide and one shaku high (幅１間、長さ１尺). Below it lives a white serpent. This is a 経塚 Sutra Mound founded by Kukai.
. kyozuka 経塚と伝説 Legends about a sutra mound .




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - - - - Tokyo / Edo　東京　江戸 - - - - -
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市谷 Ichigaya

市谷亀岡八幡宮 Ichigaya Kameoka Hachimangu
founded by Kukai as 稲嶺山（いなりやま） Inariyama
- reference : shrine.iki-kiru.com/ichigaya -

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Koto ward 　江東区 Eitaijima 永代島

. Kobo Daishi and 竜灯 Ryuto, "Dragon Lantern" .

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台東区下谷 Shitaya - 清水稲荷 Kiyomizu Inari

tokko 独鈷 Vajra


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- - - - - reference - - - - -

妖怪　データベース　yokai database - 270 entries tba
- source : nichibun.ac.jp -
- - - - - 空海 - 14 entries (02)
- - - - - 弘法 - 354 entries (00)
- source : nichibun.ac.jp -

空海の歩いた足跡に伝説が付き纏う。。。 (10)
- reference : plala.or.jp/eiji/kukaidensetu -

- Reference in Japanese - 弘法大師　空海　 伝説
- Reference in English -

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. Kobo Daishi, Kukai 弘法大師　空海 - . (774-835) .

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