[Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture] Is one of Japan's three most immovable cities located in Miyagi Prefecture? Shirooyama Daitokuji Temple and Yokoyama Fudoson in Tome City

Edit3.51
2023.10.10
Last updated: 2024.04.25

table of contents

1 What are Japan's Three Fudou?
- 1.1 What are Japan's Three Fudou?
- 1.2 What are Japan's three major Fudoson statues?
2 The origin of Daitokuji Temple and Yokoyama Fudoson
3 Fudo Myoo Goson statue of Yokoyama Fudoson
- 3.1 If you call the reception center, you can take a tour!
4 Japanese dace designated as a national natural monument
5 summary
- 5.1 INFORMATION

Sendai City is located in the center of Miyagi Prefecture. Daitokuji Yokoyama Fudoson is located in Tome City, about 80km northeast of there For some reason, the Fudo Myo-o statue enshrined here one of Japan's three Fudo statues, so I decided to investigate!

What are Japan's Three Fudou?

``Japan 〇 Great'' is a phrase that is often heard, and the meaning can vary widely depending on how it is interpreted and picked up, and this seems to be no exception. In the first place, there are two things called ``Japan's Three Fudo'' and ``Japan's Three Great Fudoson.' However, the content seems to be different.

What are Japan's Three Fudou?

In the case of Japan's Three Fudo,

Yellow Fudo at Onjoji Temple (commonly known as Miidera in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture
``Akafudo'' at Koyasan Myoo-in Temple in Takano-cho, Ito-gun, Wakayama Prefecture
``Aofudo'' at Shoren-in Temple in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture

It seems that it generally refers to three Buddhist paintings painted during the Heian period .

What are Japan's three major Fudoson statues?

Fudoson, like Yokoyama Fudoson , is a temple whose principal image is Fudo Myoo.To be honest, there is no clear information on ``these three places,'' and there are multiple candidate sites, including self-proclaimed ones. However, what is often mentioned is

Narita Fudoson in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture
Meguro Fudoson in Meguro Ward, Tokyo
Kihara Fudoson in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Nakano Fudoson in Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture
Takitani Fudoson in Tondabayashi City, Osaka Prefecture

It seems like there are five locations. (It's not one of the three majors anymore...)

Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain clear information from a third-party perspective that Yokoyama Fudoson is ``one of Japan's top three Fudoson,'' but according to local explanations,

Narita Fudoson in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture
Sugaya Fudoson in Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture
Yokoyama Fudoson in Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture

There was an explanation that these three temples are ``Japan's Three Fudo.''

Explanatory signboard of Yokoyama Fudoson

The origin of Daitokuji Temple and Yokoyama Fudoson

According to legend, in 1156, a statue of Fudo Myoo from Baekje (a nation located in the southwestern part of the present-day Korean Peninsula) washed up on Mitobehama in present-day Togura, Minamisanriku-cho, Motoyoshi-gun, and was enshrined there. It is said that According to one theory, it was carved by the Oshu Fujiwara clan or Kobo Daishi Kukai during the Heian period.

At that time, the name of the mountain and temple was Myozan Kongoji, but in 1504 it was converted from Shingon sect to Soto sect. At that time, the name was changed to Hakuoyama Daitokuji, and it is said to have survived to this day. It has been popularly known as ``Yokoyama no Ofudo-sama'' for a long time

The current Fudo-do Hall of Yokoyama Fudoson

Currently, the grounds of Daitokuji and Yokoyama Fudoson are slightly apart, but this is due to a fire in the past, and when the hall was destroyed, it was rebuilt at a distance apart. By the way, the hall was destroyed in the fire, but the Fudo Myoo statue was rescued by local residents and was saved.

Fudo Myoo Goson statue of Yokoyama Fudoson

The Fudo Myo-o statue enshrined at Yokoyama Fudoson is a colossal statue made of marquetry made of Katsura wood, measuring 2.75 meters in sitting height and weighing 300 kg. It was designated as an important cultural property in 1997.

The principal image is a 5 cm pure gold statue of Fudo Myoo, which is enshrined inside the seated statue of Fudo Myoo. It is said to be unveiled only once every 12 years, during the Year of the Rooster.

The 28th of every month is the festival of Fudo-sama, and the first festival of the year, January 28th, is called ``Hatsufudo.'' The image is of Fudo-sama this morning. Although it is a weekday, there seem to be a lot of visitors. https://t.co/M5WDc6bbVB pic.twitter.com/Np3k1XpRZU
— Yokoyama Fudou (@Yokoyama_Fudou) January 28, 2022

It is a seated statue holding a sword in its right hand to cut off people's earthly desires and fate, and a rope to tie up evil in its left hand.It is huge and has a rugged face with a biting its lower lip, coupled with vivid vermilion flames. I feel an incredible force.

Although it was damaged during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, it was sent to cultural property restoration experts in Kyoto and safely returned to Yokoyama in 2014.

If you call the reception center, you can take a tour!

Normally, the door is closed, but as you can see in the image below, if you call the reception desk on the left side of Fudo-do Hall, you can see it for free!

When you visit, please ask to see Fudo Myoo!

Japanese dace designated as a national natural monument

As soon as you pass through the Sanmon gate at the entrance, you will see a pond in the temple grounds right in front of you. Another highlight of Daitokuji Yokoyama Fudoson is the Japanese dace, which lives here.

They are considered to be the messengers of Fudoson, and have been fed and cared for by pilgrims for many years.In 1935, they were designated as a national natural monument as the ``Yokoyama dace habitat'' I am.

This fish is also called red-bellied because the male's abdomen turns red during the spawning season.

The Kubo, Nakagawa, and Terakawa basins that follow the pond have also been designated as natural monuments, and during the breeding season, around May, they go to the river to lay eggs, and return to the pond around August.

summary

Although I didn't mention it much, the carvings on the Sanmon Gate and the Nio statues enshrined on either side the ``Five-storied Bronze Pagoda'', which was designated as a tangible cultural property by Miyagi Prefecture in 1957. There are many sights to see, including Yakushido, which is located on a small island in the center of the pond