Religious Buildings
Main hall
(Photos are posted on the “history page)
Rebuilt in 1846, it is 7 ken (approximately 12.6 m) square, with a ridge height of 53 shaku (approximately 16 m), and the roof was originally thatched, but is now covered with copper plates. Most of the materials used are zelkova, and all the pillars are cylindrical.
The inner, middle, and outer halls have lattice ceilings with brightly colored pictures inlaid in every lattice space, mostly flowers, a few birds, and animals. There are records of the people who made the dedications, such as "Moriuei-sonchu","Kanse-10nin-gumi" and "Tosue,Akizo and Shinsuke."
It has a back hall and is in the so-called Tendai style. The carvings on the girders of the front worship are a composition of cloud dragons(Unryu), pine trees, and hermits, and the elaborate chisel marks were created by the master carpenter "Tabuchi Eizo Minamotono Katsunaga of Sukumo Village, Oku District". Moreover there are many carvings on the three-sided girder of the hall.
The plaque with the name of the mountain hanging on the front is handwritten by Harumasa Ikeda, lord of the Bizen domain, 162 cm wide by 90 cm high, and made of zelkova.
Amida-do Hall
The statement that `"Historical, 5th year of the Tempo era, Shunryo Hoin rebuilt" in the property list (Meiji 31) indicates the former Amida-do Hall. After all halls was destroyed in a big fire the previous year, it was quickly rebuilt, and it was considered to be a temporary Main hall more than 10 years.
Amida-do
After the main hall was completed, a new Amida Sanzon was brought in from another place and became the principal image, and it has been passed down as Amida-do. However, the old hall, which had a grass thatched roof, a width of 3.5 ken, and a depth of 3.0 ken, seems to have been an emergency building immediately after the disaster, and its style and materials were in poor condition and had fallen into severe disrepair due to the wind and rain over the past 100 years. Then, it was rebuilt in 1973 at the request of the chief priest before last and with the dedication of 100,000 members of the temple.
The new hall is made entirely of Japanese cypress, is 3ken square, and has a hipped roof covered with copper plate. A reinforced concrete columbarium is added under the Shumi- Dan in the chancel. The enshrined statue of the Mida Triad is of unknown origin but is beautiful and splendid; the Tathagata statue is 144cm tall, and the Bodhisattva statues are both 104cm tall. Based on the information mentioned above, it is assumed that the statue was brought to the temple and relocated there, but a more detailed investigation may reveal some unexpected facts.
Chinju(Guardianship) Daiba Shrine
(Photos of Chinju Daibagu Gomado are posted on the "history" page)
At the back left of the main hall, up the stone steps, surrounded by a forest of giant old cedar trees, is Chinjudaiba Shrine, the Guardianbship of whole Enjoji mountain. In the front is the Goma-do Hall, and behind it is the Chinju-honden (main shrine). Honchi Benzaiten Gongen was enshrined as the guardian deity of the mountains, and since ancient times it has often been blessed with a miraculous and miraculous presence.
And it has been worshiped not only as the guardian of the temple grounds but also as the guardian deity of Kamo-gou since ancient times, and has been worshiped not only in the township but also widely in Bizen, Bicchu and Sakushu areas. There are many worshipers in these areas, and people continue to visit the shrine every month.
photo is the bell tower
The temple's enkisho (history book of its origine) says, "...In the Koan year, the Renshin Hoin revived the Shrine, and with the merits of the Sutra kept close to himself, the benzai celestial maiden was always protected, and a white fox would sometimes appear and warn of strange things. A shrine was built in this place, and a statue of the celestial maiden was installed inside. It is enshrined here and worshiped as the mountain's guardian, which is why it is now the shrine of Daiba. (Daiba means the Heaven in Sanskrit, and it is named thus because of celestial maiden)."
The main hall is made of wood and has a cypress bark roof, and is one and a half ken square in size, with a five-layered box set up from below the floor, and the number of elaborate and splendid carvings on the upper dragon's head, front shrine, and both gables make it famous as a rare building in this area.
On the 28th day of each month, a large festival is held in the spring (April) and autumn (October), and it is unusual to see a procession of young children at the head of the festival, and a hexagonal mikoshi parade (goshinko).
It is a place where believers from far and wide come to visit the shrine, where it is said to offer miraculous miracles that will bring you blessings in this world, such as marriage proposal, healing wounds and illnesses, and praying for entrance exams.
There are stone lions, night lanterns, torii gates, etc. that were donated by believers in ancient times, and there are also remains of shrines and shrines from the Shinto sect, an era when Shintoism and Buddhism were mixed.
Although due to the character and name of "Daiba", it is sometimes misrepresented that "Divadatta" in the Lotus Sutra is enshrined. these explanations are incorrect as they have no connection with the origin.
And there are also remains of a sect of shrine Shinto and of the era when Shintoism and Buddhism were mixed.
Like the main hall, it was rebuilt in the 3rd year of the Koka era, and the master carpenter was also the same person.
Hokyoin Stone Tower
Located approximately 100m north of Kamahondo within the precincts of the enclave, at the site of Kitanobo, it is built entirely of granite rocks and is 3.13m in height. The year of construction is clear from the inscription " Enbunn 2 early August, temple petitioner priest Ren-yu, carpenter male Buddhist novice Sekiryu". It has been featured in Okayama Prefecture Kinseki Magazine, Mitsu County Magazine, etc. for many years, and was designated by the prefecture as an important art object of Okayama Prefecture (No. 30) in February 1950, and was again designated as an important cultural property by the Prefectural Board of Education in March 1959. (No. 130). During the dismantling and restoration work in 1968, a large number of Buddhist statues (unglazed and clay figurines) were discovered by excavating the underground stone chamber under the tower. The stone chamber was made of large and small stones piled up as they were, and was approximately 1.3m2 in area (about two-thirds of a tatami mat) and 1.3m deep, and almost two-thirds of the interior was filled with Buddhist statues.
Hokyoin Stone Tower
Excavated clay figurine Senju Kannon
It is estimated that there are approximately 2,400 statues of Senju Kannon, 1,600 statues of Jizo Bodhisattva, each retaining thire original form, and approximately 1,000 statues that have been damaged in various sizes, all of which are 6 to 8 cm in total length and have five fingers and toes.
clay figurine buddha
Even the decorations on the pedestals are carved in detail, and many of them still remain, painted blue-green and coated with silver powder, making them extremely beautiful and elaborate. A small number of other pottery vessels and some Buddhist utensils were also excavated. Incidentally, the Hokyoin Pagoda is based on the Hokyo Indharani Sutra, and it is said that this sutra contains all the virtues of the Buddha, and by copying this sutra and storing it in the pagoda, one can receive the blessings of the Buddha. It is thought that it became widely popular because of the belief that all wishes can be granted.