Sep 2, 2015 - 1 min read

Nyoirin-ji Temple in Winter

Winter scene at the Mt. Nakatsu-mine

By Yoshifumi Hara

Community writer

A Buddha statue: Ksitigarbha (Earth Treasury)

A Buddha statue: Manjusri (Transcendent Wisdom)

A group of Buddha statues for requiescat

A Buddha statue: Samantabhadra (Universal Worthiness)

Mt. Nakatsu-mine (located in south-western Tokushima city) is a place related to the legend of Kobo-Daishi. Evil spirits conquered by Kobo-Daishi fell down to this mountain. "Buddha stone" and "Cave of Star" are places where the evil spirits were sealed up. The temple here of the Shingon Buddhism sect, Nyoirin-ji Temple, is one such area. Nobody accurately knows when this temple was constructed. It appears to be hundreds of years old. The sedate buildings and gentle atmosphere of this ancient temple calms me. There are many statues of Buddha in the garden. Some of them are said to assist spirits, and others are for living people. These statues also contribute to the atmosphere of the temple. They say that praying here may lead to a happy marriage.

Was this article helpful?

Help us improve the site

Give Feedback

By Yoshifumi Hara

Community writer

Following Follow

Jerome Lee 10 years ago

I love the way you captured the light on the faces of the statues, Yoshifumi-san. Great pics!

Yoshifumi Hara Photographer 10 years ago

Thank you Jerome-san. I'm glad to hear that.

Olga 10 years ago

Acala's face is scary! :)

Yoshifumi Hara Photographer 10 years ago

Hello Olga-san. Acala shows furious emotion on his face in order to keep evil spirits away from our world. So, hi is not scary. But, yes, I agree. This statue is scary.

4 comments in total