[Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture] Is there a statue of a sumo wrestler crying at night? A legend passed down at the family temple of Yoshimitsu Mogami's daughter, ``Senshoji''

Mysterious legends exist all over the country, and such stories also exist here at Senshoji Temple

This time we will introduce the ``Legend of the statue of a sumo wrestler who cries at night''

Family temple of Mogami Yoshimitsu's second daughter Komahime, ``Special Temple''

Senshoji is a Jodo Shinshu Otani sect temple located in Midori-cho, Yamagata City. It was originally located in Tendo City, located north of Yamagata City, but an incident that occurred in 1595 triggered the move to Yamagata City. It will be relocated.

Komahime the second daughter of Mogami Yoshiaki, who was the feudal lord of Dewa Province at the time , was reputed to be beautiful, and in 1595 she was sent to Kyoto as a maid to Toyotomi Hidetsugu, the He is called to the Jurakudai.

However, in July of the same year, Hidetsugu the Taikou Toyotomi Hideyoshi and committed seppuku on Mt. Koya. also executed together with Hidetsugu at Sanjo Kawara in Kyoto.

At this time, Komahime was only 15 years old.

, moved Tendo's exclusive temple to Yamagata because Komahime's birth mother was a devotee of the Jodo Shinshu sect In 1598, the temple territory was donated and relocated to its current location. They erected a magnificent kyara and mourned for Komahime.

Do you cry at night or sneak out to take up sumo? The legend of the night crying sumo wrestler

The current main hall of the temple was built in 1703 and is the largest wooden building in the Tohoku region from the mid-Edo period.

the main hall, there are statues of four sumo wrestlers, as if supporting the roof.

This sumo wrestler statue, said to have been created by Hidari Jingoro, a legendary carver from the Edo period have a soul , and the following legend has been passed down. .

Legend ① Statue of a sumo wrestler who cries at night because he cannot bear the weight of the roof

The four sumo wrestlers supporting the roof have a will because their souls reside there. While supporting the roof, she manages to withstand the weight during the day, but at night she begins to cry at night, complaining that it's "heavy...it's heavy...".

One day, the chief priest could no longer bear the crying that continued almost every night, so he asked a hunter to shoot a gun at the sumo wrestler's feet and threaten him. After that, her night crying stopped completely.

Legend ② A statue of a sumo wrestler who sneaks out in the middle of the night to wrestle sumo or buy alcohol.

In another passage, the chief priest, who did not want to disappoint the statue of a sumo wrestler who would jump out from under the eaves every night to play sumo or go out to buy alcohol, nailed the statue's legs , giving him freedom. The statues, which were no longer allowed to go out, began to cry at night.

In this story, it seems that the crying at night subsided after the gun was finally fired.

By the way, the sumo wrestler statue on the northeast side is on the grounds of an adjacent kindergarten, and entry is prohibited! So those sumo wrestlers are unconfirmed. A photo of the Sumo wrestler statue in the northeast is also posted on the official website of the temple.

• Link: Official temple website

summary

When I learned about this story, the first thing I thought was, "The chief priest is so strict" lol

As long as it doesn't cause any real harm, like the roof tilting, I think it's okay to let them go to sumo or go out to buy alcohol. If you had a nail driven into your foot, you would probably cry at night.

By the way, there are some parts of temples that are off-limits, such as the graves of the temple's Buddhist monks and kindergartens. If you are sightseeing, please be sure to follow good manners while sightseeing!

Special name temple＜Information＞

• Name: Special temple
• Address: 3-7-67 Midoricho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture 990-0041
• Phone number: 023-622-5981
• Official URL: https://www.senshojigakuen.jp/temple/

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