Sugimoto-dera
Sugimoto-dera | |
---|---|
![]() The Main Hall (Hon-dÅ) | |
Information | |
Mountain name | TaizÅzan |
Denomination | Tendai |
Venerated |
Jūichimen Kannon (Eleven-Headed Kannon) |
Founded | 734 (?) |
People | |
Founder(s) | Emperor KÅmyÅ (?) |
Founding priest | GyÅki (?) |
Location | |
Address | 903 NikaidÅ, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0002 |
Country | Japan |
Sugimoto-dera (å¤§è”µå±±è¦³éŸ³é™¢æ‰æœ¬å¯º TaizÅ-zan Kannon-in Sugimoto-dera) is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the oldest temple in Kamakura and, together with HÅkai-ji, the only one of the Tendai denomination.[1] The temple is Number one of the BandÅ SanjÅ«sankasho pilgrimage circuit.[1] Two of the three statues of goddess Kannon it enshrines are Important Cultural Properties.[1] Sugimotodera is nicknamed Geba Kannon ("Dismount Kannon"), because horsemen never failed to dismount from their steeds when they passed by.[2] (According to a different version of the legend, non-believers always fell from their horse when passing in front of the temple.)[3] The temple is a branch temple (寺末 matsuji) of HÅkai-ji.[4]
History

According to the temple's own records, Sugimoto-dera was founded in 734 by priest GyÅki on orders by Emperor ShÅmu, and is therefore the oldest of Kamakura's temples, predating the shogunate by half a millennium.[2] The records say that in the 8th century priest GyÅki was crossing the KantÅ region on foot when he saw Kamakura from Mount TaizÅ (the TaizÅzan in the temple's name) and decided to leave there a statue of goddess Kannon.[2] He then carved and enshrined it himself.[2] Later in 734,[5] Emperor ShÅmu was told by the goddess herself to build here a temple (the Hon-dÅ).[2] Later, the temple was restored by Ennin (794–864), and Eshin SÅzu Genshin (942–1017) enshrined in it a statue of Eleven-faced Kannon, an event that made the temple surge to Number one of the Sanjusankasho pilgrimage circuit.[1]
This is the tradition: the real history of the temple is in reality largely unknown, but Sugimoto-dera certainly predates the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and is therefore, if not the oldest, among the oldest temples in Kamakura.[1] The Azuma Kagami calls it "ÅŒkura KannondÅ", or "ÅŒkura Kannon Hall", from the old name of the area where it stands.[1]
The temple was visited in 1191 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, who ordered extensive repairs.[1]
In 1337, well after the fall of the shogunate in 1333, there was a battle in the temple's premises between HÅjÅ supporters and Ashikaga forces, and more than 300 samurai lost their lives. The many small gorintÅ (stone stupas) to the right of the main hall were laid there in memory of those who fell on that occasion.
The history of the temple during the Muromachi period is unfortunately not known.[2]
Points of interest

The three sitting statues of Kannon that the Main Hall enshrines are the temple's main object of worship.[1] The statue on the left is supposedly the one GyÅki built, but it appears to belong rather to the late Heian period (from 794 to 1185).[1] In spite of its dubious attribution, the statue is a city Important Cultural Asset.[1] The one in the middle is the statue said to have been made by Ennin, which also seems to go back only to the late Heian period and is a national Important Cultural Asset.[1] The one on the right is the statue traditionally attributed to Genshin, which has been dated to the middle of the Kamakura period and is far too young to really be by him.[1] This work too is a national Important Cultural Asset.[1] Religious tradition notwithstanding, none of the statues seems therefore to be attributable to its supposed author.[1]
One evening in 1189 a fire destroyed the entire ÅŒkura KannondÅ, but the temple's bettÅ, a man called JÅdai-bÅ, jumped into the fire and rescued the three statues, laying them under a cedar tree. From this episode stems the present name of the temple, which literally means "Under the cedar tree".[1] The rescue was deemed miraculous, and greatly increased the temple's reputation and the number of its pilgrims.[1] The story was later further embellished claiming that the statues repaired under the tree unaided, and simply were found under the tree.[1]
Finally, the two warriors at the NiÅ gate (the NiÅmon, see photo), are attributed by the temple to famous sculptor Unkei, but the claim is not supported by any evidence.[1]
See also
- The Glossary of Japanese Buddhism for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture.
Notes
References
- Kamakura ShÅkÅ Kaigijo (2008). Kamakura KankÅ Bunka Kentei KÅshiki Tekisutobukku (in Japanese). Kamakura: Kamakura ShunshÅ«sha. ISBN 978-4-7740-0386-3.
- Kamiya, Michinori (2000/08). Fukaku Aruku - Kamakura Shiseki Sansaku Vol. 1 (in Japanese). Kamakura: Kamakura Shunshūsha. ISBN 4-7740-0340-9. Check date values in:
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(help) - Mutsu, Iso (1995/06). Kamakura. Fact and Legend. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-1968-8. OCLC 33184655. Check date values in:
|date=
(help) - Shirai, Eiji (1976). Kamakura Jiten (in Japanese). TÅkyÅdÅ Shuppan. ISBN 4-490-10303-4.
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Coordinates: 35°19′21.4″N 139°34′2.8″E / 35.322611°N 139.567444°E