History of Byodoji Temple

Founding tradition

The Beginning of Byodoji

The Byodoji Origin Record tells that a golden lotus cast by Kobo Daishi caught on an old pine, and that a lapis-lazuli syllable vaṃ took the form of Yakushi Nyorai. The temple is said to have been named after Yakushi Nyorai's vow.

Read the Byodoji Origin Record in modern Japanese

Origins preserved in the names

Temple, Mountain, and Cloister Names

Byodoji's temple name is Byodoji, its mountain name is Hakusuizan, and it has two cloister names, Iō-in and Nikkō-in.

Timeline

History Since the Founding

This timeline traces the temple's history since its founding, drawing on the Byodoji Origin Record and on records kept at the temple and elsewhere.

1. 814

   The founding tradition of Kobo Daishi Kukai

   The Byodoji Origin Record tells that Kobo Daishi carved and enshrined Yakushi Nyorai and founded the temple.

   • A golden lotus cast from the mountaintop caught on an old pine and shone in all directions. The record tells this as the sign of the founding.
   • The lapis-lazuli syllable vaṃ took the form of Yakushi Nyorai, and the Daishi is said to have carved Yakushi Nyorai, the bodhisattvas Nikkō and Gakkō, and the Twelve Divine Generals, bowing three times with every stroke.
   • The name Byodoji is said to come from Yakushi Nyorai's vow to heal the suffering of all people equally.

2. Nanboku-chō period

   Guiding pilgrims as Kumano sendatsu

   In the Nanboku-chō period, the chief priests of Byodoji served as Kumano sendatsu, guides who led people on pilgrimage to the three great shrines of Kumano.

   • The Kumano Nachi Taisha Documents record that the temple's chief priest served as a Kumano sendatsu.
   • At Ōmiya Hachiman Shrine in Nobuno, on the north side of Aratano town, the six hundred scrolls of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Daihannya-kyō) copied in this period are still preserved.

   

   

3. Age of war

   Temple halls that declined amid war

   Through the wars of the late Muromachi and Sengoku periods, Byodoji declined and its halls in the mountains fell into ruin. The Byodoji Origin Record tells that Chōsokabe Motochika heard the voices of prayer, got down from his horse, and bowed. It also states that the story of Motochika burning the temple is mistaken.

   • In 1577, war between Hosokawa Saneyuki and Miyoshi Nagaharu broke out in this area.
   • According to the record, Chōsokabe Motochika passed by while a goma for Ashura-ten was being performed at Byodoji.
   • Place names such as Dōdoko, Gomagatani, Tōgamine, and Hasuike still carry traces of the temple halls of that time.
   • The site said to be that of the former main hall now lies within the grounds of Yasaka Shrine in the Shigetomo district of Aratano town.

4. Early Edo period

   The rebuilding begun by Shōshun Hōin

   In 1677, Shōshun Hōin saw the ruined grounds and resolved to restore the temple.

   • Shōshun Hōin came to Byodoji from Furuta village in Iyo Province (present-day Ehime Prefecture) and became its chief priest.
   • He recast the temple bell in 1683, built the two-story gate in 1706, and built the main hall in 1722.
   • In 1725, before he died at the age of 80, Shōshun Hōin entrusted the restoration of the halls and observances to the chief priests who would follow him. He left instructions that the hall built in 1722 should one day become the Daishi Hall.
   • Kaiō Shōnin, the second restorer, took up those wishes and built a new Yakushi Hall in the third month of 1737. This is the present main hall.

   The rebuilding begun by Shōshun Hōin was carried on by successive chief priests, and the present main hall was built.

5. Late Edo period

   Rebuilding the Daishi Hall, building the goma hall, and reviving the public opening

   The chief priests who carried on the rebuilding prepared the Daishi Hall and the goma hall and began regular goma and sutra recitation. They revived the public opening of Yakushi Nyorai and also printed books from woodblocks.

   • In 1779, under Mui, the fourth restorer, the Daishi Hall was rebuilt and the goma hall was built. Mui also began a practice of one thousand goma over one thousand days, and an observance of reciting the Universal Gate chapter (Fumon-bon).
   • In the third month of 1792, under Keiban, the fifth restorer, the long-interrupted public opening of Yakushi Nyorai was revived and held for five days. On the last day, a ryūsui kanjō (flowing-water consecration) was performed for all departed spirits.
   • The record tells that devotion to Yakushi Nyorai as a protector against misfortune (yakuyoke Yakushi) spread from this opening.
   • Under the name Hakusui Shōja, the temple made woodblocks and published books such as guides to the Shikoku pilgrimage.

   

   

6. Bunsei era

   Building the Daishi Hall and the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra

   In the Bunsei era, the Daishi Hall was built anew, and a set of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra was prepared at the wish of the faithful.

   • According to the Byodoji Origin Record, following the rebuilding of 1779, Ken'ō, the eighth restorer, began building the Daishi Hall (Mie-dō) anew in the intercalary first month of 1822. The ridgepole was raised in the fourth month of 1824.
   • The Daishi Hall enshrines images of Kobo Daishi's Ten Great Disciples, and ceiling paintings from that time also remain.
   • The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in the Byodoji collection was prepared around this time at the wish of the faithful.
   • From 1828, under Gitō, the tenth restorer, the tendoku, in which each of the six hundred scrolls is flipped through in turn, became a regular part of the public opening of Yakushi Nyorai.

7. Meiji period

   Sai Yūken and work on the halls and for the community

   In the Meiji period, along with work on the temple halls, a bridge, a water basin, and other things were built for local people and pilgrims.

   • The New Shikoku 88 Sacred Sites were laid out on the hill behind the temple, so that people could make the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage within the temple grounds.
   • Sai Yūken Sōjō, the thirteenth restorer, built the Enma Jūō Hall (Hall of King Enma and the Ten Kings) in 1884. He also repaired Byodoji Bridge and set up a bronze water basin in the shape of a lotus.

8. Modern era

   Taniguchi Shinryō and the postwar recovery

   Taniguchi Shinryō was the last chief priest to add his writing to the Byodoji Origin Record, which successive chief priests had written in turn. After the war, he rebuilt the main gate and the bell tower and restored the neglected grounds.

   • In 1923, during research for the Gazetteer of Aratano Town (Aratano-chō shi), a "star" (a meteorite) connected with the secret rite of the Star Offering (hoshiku) was found beneath the floor.
   • The American anthropologist Dr. Frederick Starr visited Byodoji as a pilgrim.
   • Tsutsui Rinnosuke and his father Fukuji made the pilgrimage with a hakoguruma, a wooden box on wheels, and arrived at Byodoji. Rinnosuke recovered until he could walk, and he offered the hakoguruma to the principal image.
   • After the war, the main gate was rebuilt and the bell tower was renewed.

   Local people affectionately called the chief priest "Inge-san."

9. Present day

   Restoring the grounds and the 24-hour livestream

   While repairs to the grounds continued, the temple began a 24-hour livestream of the main hall in 2020, so that people far away can also pay their respects.

   • Under Honorary Chief Priest Taniguchi Kōryō, the jibutsudō, the nōkyōjo (where pilgrims receive temple seals), the restrooms, and more were renovated in the Great Heisei Repairs.
   • Afterward, the goma hall and the kuri (the chief priest's residence) were rebuilt. In 2015 the inner sanctuary of the main hall was restored and opened to the public, and in 2016 the Hatsue-shiki, the first festival day of the new year for the principal image, was revived.
   • On April 26, 2020, the temple began a 24-hour livestream of the inner sanctuary of the main hall. It is now broadcast on YouTube, Twitch, and Niconico Live.

   Toward 2034, when the Goonki memorial will mark 1,200 years since Kobo Daishi entered eternal meditation, the temple is repairing its halls and cultural properties.