Kyoto a Cultural Guide. John H. Martin
in all cultures, and Japan is no exception. The Japanese have always been attracted to tragic heroes as well as to their devoted followers, and none are better known than Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune and Benkei, Yoshitsune's faithful companion in arms. In the late 1100s, Benkei was a monk of an unusual combative nature. Much given to uproarious conduct, he was a lover of duels, and he once vaingloriously swore to fight and to defeat one thousand warriors and to deprive them of their swords. Having conquered 999 such unfortunates, he chanced upon the armed sixteen-year-old Yoshitsune, crossing the Gojo (Fifth Street) Bridge at the Kamogawa river below Kiyomizudera. He challenged this easy mark of a youngster to conflict, not knowing that the lad had been taught the art of swordsmanship by a tengu, a long-nosed goblin learned in the arts of war. Since he wished to be fair to the young man, Benkei weighted himself down with iron geta (sandals) as well as with a cumbersome sword. To his amazement, he was defeated by the youth. As a result, he pledged to become Yoshitsune's devoted companion, and thereafter accompanied the handsome, courageous, and able Yoshitsune in his many victorious battles and to his tragic end.
Benkei is remembered today at Kiyomizu-dera, for representations of his oversized geta and staff stand just before the Hondo of the temple. (the items are oversized since Benkei is said to have been almost eight feet tall.) In the latter quarter of the nineteenth century, a blind blacksmith regained his sight after repeated prayers at Kiyomizu-dera; thus, he created these versions in iron of Benkei's geta and staff as a thanksgiving offering to the temple for the return of his vision. One other remembrance of this legendary monk and his failure to win his one thousandth sword can be found at Gojo Bridge. Today a modern statue of Benkei has been placed at the western end of the bridge in a mid-traffic park. Here Benkei stands in miniature, sword in hand, ready to take on all comers as they cross the Kamogawa river as Yoshitsune once did. He stands unchallenged today, no doubt due to the heavy traffic which creates a barrier no modern Kyoto pedestrian would ever defy.
Hondo The Hondo (Main Hall), looming grandly beyond the Asakura-do and the purification fountain, is the main attraction of Kiyomizu-dera. Its original structure before the 1629 fire was the Shishin-den, the throne hall, of Emperor Kammu. The 190-foot-long by 88-foot-deep building of seven bays stands on the side of a cliff, and it is supported by 139 pillars some 49 feet tall. Its huge hinoki, hip-ridged roof rises 53 feet high and is skirted with mokoshi (smaller and lower false roofs) on its east, west, and north sides, these extra roofs providing covered, open corridors on these three sides. The Hondo's front (southern) veranda juts out by 25 feet over the valley below. This large butai (dancing stage) is flanked by the two wings of the roofed gakuya (orchestra). These two units are so named since religious music and dance took place on this veranda. A fine view over a portion of the city of Kyoto and to the south can be obtained from the platform which sits high above the valley.
The interior of the Hondo has an outer sanctuary (gejin) and an inner sanctuary (naijin). the outer sanctuary is striking in its simplicity with its plain, massive unfinished columns and unfinished floor. Some thirty wooden tablets or paintings are hung high up on the walls, and they thus enrich the simple structure. These are vodve gifts of tradesmen at the time of the 1633 rebuilding of the temple after its last disastrous fire. Among the most noted of these gifts are the four paintings of ships, three commissioned by the merchant-trading family of the Sumiyoshi and one by the Suminokura family, all from 1633-34. The Suminokura gift is particularly interesting since it shows a festival on board a ship. Represented among its figures are European sailors and an African servant or slave. It stands 8.8 feet tall by 11.8 feet wide.
In contrast to the simplicity of the outer sanctuary, the inner sanctuary of the Hondo is of great splendor. At the center of the inner sanctuary (naijin) is a sunken, stone-floored innermost sanctuary (nainaijin) where the sacred, hidden image is kept the major gold-leaf-covered images on public view stand behind vermilion wooden railings on a raised black lacquer platform with gold decorations hanging from the roof of the unit.
The primary image of the Hondo is the Eleven-faced Kannon (Juichimen Senju Sengen Kannon) said to have been carved by Enchin in the 700s. It is a hibutsu, a hidden image, which is only brought forth every thirty-three years, its last appearance being in 1977. (the number thirty-three has religious significance since Kannon is said to have taken thirty-three vows to save mankind.) This 5.16-foot-tall image is unique in that two of its arms extend over its head, its hands almost touching each other and seemingly supporting a topmost tiny Buddha image. Each of this Kannon's many hands holds a different religious symbol.
To the right and left of the Kannon's case are the Nijuhachibushu, the 28 supernatural followers of Kannon, each approximately 4.6 feet tall. At each corner of the black lacquer platform stand the Shitenno, the four Deva Kings, protecting all the images from evil. In a shrine at the east end is an image of Bishamon-ten, while at the west end is the Jizo image. These and the Kannon are said to have been carved by Priest Enchin. Pictures of these three images hang at the end of the inner shrine, so they can be seen even when their cases are closed.
Nishi-muki Jizo On leaving the Hondo and walking toward the hillside, one should bypass the grand stairway leading down to the Otowa Falls in order that the four small buildings that close the temple grounds on the east can be visited. The first of these houses the minor Nishi-muki Jizo (Westward-Facing Jizo) dedicated to the bodhisattva who protects children, travelers, and the dead. To the right of the Jizo Shrine is the thatch-roofed Shakado (Buddha's Hall). Within is a three-foot-tall smiling image of the Shaka Buddha seated on a golden lotus flower. A nimbus appears behind his head, and a magnificent lacelike aureole behind the full image is enriched with flying angels (apsaras) carrying musical instruments. On either side of the Shaka stands a thirteen-inch-tall Fugen and a Monju, the Buddhist deities of virtue and wisdom. Between the Shaka-do and its neighboring Amida-do (Amida Hall) are some 180 small Jizo images sitting under an open, roofed structure known as the Hall of One Hundred Jizo (Hyakutaijizo). One folk tale holds that bereaved parents can view these images and, if they find one that resembles their dead child, can rest assured that the child is at peace.
Amida-do the Amida-do to the south of the Shaka-do has the traditional tiled roof of Buddhist temples. The building is divided into three sections: the first portion holds many ihai, memorial tablets to the dead; the middle section holds the Amida Nyorai image which is 6.25 feet tall, its hands arranged in the mudra (the symbolic position of the hands) indicating contemplation. Amida is the Buddha of the Western Paradise, and the golden aureole behind his image has the traditional one thousand Buddha figures in relief as well as a number of larger such images also in raised relief. It was here that the doctrine of the nenbutsu (Namu Amida Butsu —Praise to the Buddha Amida) was proclaimed in 1188 by Priest Honen, thereby creating the cult of Amida and the Jodo sect of Buddhism. The repetition of this phrase insures one of being received by Amida into his western paradise after death. A special nenbutsu service takes place here five times a year.
Okuno-in The last building in this row is the thatch-roofed Okuno-in (the Inner Temple). This was the site of the original grass hut of Gyo-ei, the hermit whom Enchin came upon at this spot. Here Enchin created the rude hut that housed the three images he had carved of Kannon, Bishamon-ten, andjizo, and here later stood the house that Tamuramaro gave Enchin to replace the simple hut housing the sacred Kannon image. In front of the Okuno-in is a butai (a dancing stage similar to but much smaller than the one in front of the Hondo). Behind the Okuno-in is the Nurete Kannon (Water-soaked Kannon) image, a figure standing in a water-filled basin. It is an act of purification and piety to dip water from the basin and to pour it over the head of the Kannon.
Otowa-no-taki Below the Okuno-in, at the foot of the grand staircase bypassed earlier, lies the Otowa-no-taki (Sound of Feathers Waterfall). Water falling down the three-part waterfall is said to have a divine power which prevents illness; thus, many visitors will be seen using long, wooden-handled metal cups that enable them to reach out and partake of the curative waters of the falls. The most devout of devotees can be seen at times, clad all in white, standing under the icy waters of the falls as an ascetic practice—even in the coldest of winter weather. The deity of these falls is the Fudo Myo-o, a ferocious-looking deity who punishes evildoers. It is this Fudo, enshrined at the waterfall font, whom the devotees worship as they toss coins into the basin before drinking the sacred waters.
Jishu Shrine A most popular Shinto shrine exists right in the middle of Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist