Saiko-Ji Sendai

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Ootaki Fudo 大滝不動 Otaki Fudo at the Big Waterfall

Nr. 29 Saikooji 西光寺 Saiko-Ji - 大滝不動
Saikooji 西光寺 Saiko-Ji
Miyagi 宮城県 - 禅定の道場 zenjoo

. 東北三十六不動尊霊場
36 Fudo Temples in Tohoku . 　

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宮城県仙台市太白区秋保町馬場字大滝１１
Ōtaki-11 Akiumachi Baba, Taihaku-ku, Sendai-shi


秋保大滝 Akiu Great Falls

Akiu (Akiho) is a famous hot spring near Sendai with one of the famous huge waterfalls nearby.
The waterfall is about 55 m long and 6 meters wide.

Priest Ennin tried to built a temple at the mountain 長嶺山 near the waterfall, but could not succeed the first time. He continued his pilgrimage in Tohoku, toward the mountains of Dewa and in860 founded the famous Yamadera 山寺.
On the way back he was again stopped by the powerful energy of the waterfall and the forest and this time carved a statue of Fudo Myo-O himself. He established this temple as the "Oku no In" of Yamadera.

The Fudo Hall 不動堂 is on a cliff above the fall. Further down is a bridge over the river, 不動橋 Fudobashi .


. Ennin -　Jigaku Daishi 慈覚大師 . (794 – 864)

. Risshaku-ji (Ryushaku-ji) 立石寺 - Yamadera 山寺 .


- Chant of the temple

南無不動　功徳は世々にあらわれて　
みちびきたまえ　秋保大滝

Hail to Fudo !
May his charity prevail and lead us
at the Waterfall of Akiu


Legend knows that in 1770 a priest performed austerities here for 1000 days 千日籠り to pray that his mother would be healed. And the powerful energy of this area indeed helped to get her well.


- quote
Saiko-ji, or Takimotosan (Mt. Takimoto) as it is officially called, is regarded as the inner shrine of Risshaku-ji in Yama-dera, Yamagata Prefecture. It is said that the priest Jikaku Daishi (also known as Ennin) founded Risshaku-ji during his preaching tour around Tohoku in the Jogan Period (856-875 CE), after undergoing a rigorous course of religious training for a hundred days at Akiu Otaki (a waterfall) located right beside the current Fudo-do (hall dedicated to Fudo Myoo).

The temple features a huge bronze seated statue of Fudo-myoo which is 3.3 meters in height, 5.1 meters around the waist, 7.2 meters around the knees, and has flaming nimbus 5 meters high.



In 1828 (year 11 of the Bunsei era), after completing the statue of Fudo, saint Chisoku Shonin 知足上人 jumped into the waterfall, praying for all people to have their wishes come true. Since then many people have prayed to the statue to grant them their wishes. Right behind the Fudo-do is Akiu Otaki, which is designated as a national area of natural beauty.
The statue of Fudo is said to have been cast during the Edo period, when Chisoku-shonin rebuilt the temple.
- source : www.sentabi.jp/en


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不動明王座像 Statue of the seated Fudo Myo-O

Look at more photos of the waterfall and the temple :
- source : www11.atpages.jp/ruisho

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- CLICK for more photos !

- quote -
Akiu no taue odori 秋保の田植踊 rice-planting dance
Taue Odori (the rice planting dance) handed down in Akiu Town in Taihaku-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, is a traditional folk performing art that is nationally designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property. It is said that the dance dates back to the 12th century, when the Heike refugees, who settled in the Nagafukuro area, began the dance to recall the good old days.
This rice planting dance
is danced by a large number of dancers. It is said that as many as from 50 to 60 dancers or over 100 at peak time joined the dance in the past. The dances are dedicated to Nagafukuro Myojin Shrine, Baba Otaki Fudo-do Temple and Yumoto Yakushi-do Temple from the middle of April to the beginning of May every year.
Two boys
taking a part of “Yajuro” appear on the stage followed by the two young boys taking a part of “Suzufuri (the bell men)” and give the prologue, after which the rice planting dance is performed by 8 to 14 girl dancers called “Saotome” in hope for a rich harvest in the coming fall.
- source : nippon-kichi.jp... -


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- - - - - Pilgrim page of the temple
- source : www.tohoku36fudo.jp


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- - - reference 西光寺 仙台 不動 - - -


. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Introduction . 　

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. O-Mamori お守り　Amulets and talismans from Japan .　

. Japanese Temples - ABC list - .

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. Japan - after the BIG earthquake .
March 11, 2011, 14:46

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