Nichiryubu-ji Temple is the oldest temple in Gifu Prefecture. People affectionately call it Takazawa Kannon.
Map of Nichiryubu-ji Temple
When you visit Takazawa Kannon, two Deva Kings welcome you at the Deva Gate.
Deva Gate
After you pass the Deva Gate, you will see beautiful greens and the fall by the side of stairs.
Approach to the temple
After you climb the staircase, you will see the main hall looks like Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto with the stage. The size of the main hall is 15.6m in width and 12.6m in depth.
The Main Hall
According to the temple legend, the main hall was donated by Masako Hojo who was wife of Yoritomo Minamoto who established Kamakura Shogunate. However, unfortunately, it was burnt to ashes during the Onin-Bunmei Wars. The current main hall was rebuilt in 1672 during the Edo Period. In the main hall, there is Senju-sengan Kannon Bosatsu and his attendants, Bishamonten and Acala. There are also Ryomen-sukuna, the double faced specter, in the east and Kobo-daishi in the west.
In the main hall, there is beautiful paint of heavenly maidens on the ceiling.
Heavenly Maidens on the Ceiling
Ryomen-sukuna
According to the temple legend, there was a double faced specter with four hands and four legs, called Ryomen-sukuna in Hida Province (now Gifu Prefecture) in the period of the Emperor Nintoku. When Ryomen-sukuna passed through this area, two pigeons came flying from out of nowhere with strange tweet and then flew to the peak of Mt. Takazawa. Ryomen-sukuna felt strange and asked a village folk if there was something wrong here. The village folk replied, “There is a pond in the Mt. Takazawa. A dragon lives in the pond and does harm to the village folks.” Ryomen-sukuna climbed up to the Mt. Takazawa and got rid of the dragon. Then, he built the temple.
In the Kamakura Period, there was a severe famine due to a drought in Japan. The temple legend also said that when Masako Hojo who was wife of Yoritomo Minamoto was dreaming, Dragon God appeared in the dream and said if you copy 1,000 volumes of Lotus Sutra and hold a memorial service for Lotus Sutra by putting copies under water of the pond in Nichiryubu-ji Temple in Mino Province, you could have rain immediately. She requested Doun, a high priest, to hold the service, and then it rained per the dream and had fine crops. Masako felt happy to hear this and she donated to erect the seven major structures in the temple compound of Nichiryubu-ji Temple.
As I mentioned above, the main hall and other buildings except the two-storied pagoda was burnt to ashes during the Onin-Bunmei Wars. The two-storied pagoda only remains in nowadays here from the Kamakura Period and was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 1950.
The Two-Storied Pagoda
If you have a chance to come to Gifu Prefecture in Japan, this temple is one of my recommendation to visit.
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