The History of Myōen-ji
Myōen-ji 妙圓寺 is an important temple of the Japanese Tendai sect of Buddhism. Its formal name is Wakōzan Iō-in Myōen-ji 和光山醫王院妙圓寺. The name of its original abbot and the date of its founding are unknown. In 1615 the temple was restored by Shungyō Hōin 舜堯法印, an eminent Tendai monk from the Kyoto temple Enryaku-ji, Tendai’s lidest and most important monastery. At the time of its restoration, Myōen-ji’s main sup-porter was Gessei Myōen Zen’ni, the matriarch of the locally important Mizushima family. The Mizushima family is thus honored as Myōen-ji’s founding patrons. Nestled in the surrounding hills, Myōen-ji was until the 1970s a quiet country temple with no houses located in the vicinity. Even now it retains much of this peaceful rural atmosphere. The fact that the word “Iō” 醫王 (“Medicine King”) appears in Myōen-ji’s formal name suggests that originally the temple’s chief buddha image was Yakushi Nyorai 藥師如来 (Medicine Buddha), since “Medicine King” is another name for Yakushi Nyorai. It is therefore believed that the Yakushidō 薬師堂 (Yakushi Hall), a small building formerly on Myōen-ji’s grounds, was Myōen-ji’s original Hondō (Main Hall), prior to the temple’s restoration by Shungyō Hōin.
The Hondō (Main Hall)
The present Hondō of Myōen-ji was built in 1745. The central image in the Hondō is that of Amida Nyorai, the principal Buddha of the Pure Land tradition of Buddhism. Also enshrined in the Hondo are: Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha); Nikkō Bodhisattva and Gakkō Bodhisattva (Ya-kushi’s bodhisattva attendants); the Jūni Shinshō (Yakushi’s twelve guardian deities); Kannon Bodhisattva (the bodhisattva of compassion); Fudō Myōō (Immovable Wisdom King); Bishamonten (a Buddhist guardian diety); Jizō Bodhisattva (the bodhisattva protector of children, travelers, and hell dwellers); and Gansan Jie Daishi (an important Enryaku-ji abbot named Ryōgen, 912-985).
The Buddha images enshrined in the Hondo
Amida Nyorai is the Buddha of the Pure Land of the West. As a bodhisattva named Dharmakara, Amida practiced for many eons and finally attained Buddhahood. One of Amida’s vows is that all who place faith in him will be reborn in his Pure Land and eventually attain Buddhahood. This vow be-came the foundation of the Pure Land tradition of Buddhism.
Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha) is the Buddha of the Emerald World in the East. As a bodhisattva prior to buddhahood he vowed to cure all illnesses and liberate all sentient beings. Yakushi Nyorai is revered throughout East Asia.
The Iwaya Reiketsu (Iwaya Holy Grotto)
The excavation of the Iwaya Reiketsu Grotto is believed to have started about four centuries ago and reached completion during the time of Myōen-ji’s fourth abbot, Kōnen Hōin. The chisel marks remaining on the grotto’s walls attest to the long-continued efforts of Myōen-ji’s early abbots and their disciples. The fifty-meter-long grotto is located directly below the Benzaiten Hall on the hilltop, thus symbolically providing visitors with a place of worship inside Benzaiten’s body. Enshrined in the grotto is an image of the Shinto god Ugajin and a number of stone images of Buddhas, such as Kongokai Dainichi Nyorai and Taizōkai Dainichi Nyorai.
Diagram of the Iwaya Reiketsu
Features of the Iwaya Holy Grotto
Ugajin, a Shinto deity associated with harvests, fertility, and prosperity, is the central image of the Grotto. Ugajin is usually represented with the body of a snake and the head of a human. Offerings of eggs are customarily made to this deity. In Tendai Buddhism, Ugajin is associated with Benzaiten.
The Fumetsu no Hōtō (Eternal Flame of the Dharma) was first lit over 1,200 years ago at the great Tendai monastery Enryaku-ji in Kyoto, and has never once gone out during the ensuing centuries. The flame that presently burns in the Grotto is a descendant of this eternal flame, carefully conveyed by lamp to Myōen-ji in 1986.
The Zeniarai Ike (Money-Purifying Pool) contains waters that are believed to purify any money washed in them. It is said that those who purify their money in this way will receive profits many times the amount washed. This wondrous pool, which has never gone dry, is the source of one of Myōen-ji’s popular names, Tsuchiya Zeniarai Benten (Money-Washing Benten Shrine of Tsuchiya).
The Bentendō (Benzaiten Hall)
The Bentendō (Benzaiten Hall), located on the hill directly above the Iwaya Holy Grotto, is also known as the Hōshuden (Precious Pearl Hall). The original Bentendō was reconstructed in 1804, making the present building more than 220 years old.
Happi Uga Benzaiten (Eight-Armed Uga Benzaiten) is the full formal name of the Benzaiten image enshrined in the Bentendō. The name reflects the close association in Japan between Benzaiten and the god Ugajin. On top of Benzaiten’s round, smiling face sitHappi Uga Benzaiten (Eight-Armed Uga Benzaiten) is the full formal name of the Benzaiten image enshrined in the Bentendō. The s an image of the god Ugajin, with a snake body and human head. Benzaiten is regarded in Japan as capable of granting any wish. In her eight hands Benzaiten image holds various objects, such as a jewel and a sword, that symbolize her virtues and powers. She is ac-companied by the gods Daikokuten and Bishamonten, and surrounded by fifteen small images of children, animals, and other objects. These images represent the servants who go forth to answer the wishes made by Ben-zaiten’s believers.
The Honkomatsu-ishi Chōzu (The Andesite Water Basin) is the large stone water basin where Myōen-ji’s visitors may purify themselves in body and mind before worshipping at the temple. The six-ton andesite rock was quarried at the town of Manazuru in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The Gomagi Ki’nyūjo (The Wish-Recording Counter) is where visitors to Myōen-ji may record their names and their wishes on small wooden tablets. These tablets are burned in esoteric goma ceremonies held at twelve-day intervals on days of the snake, to convey visitors’ wishes to Benzaiten. Stamps with 100 different wishes written in Japanese are provided at the counter.
Guidelines for visitors
- After entering the temple gate, please stop at the large stone water basin to your left and rinse your hands as a gesture of purification.
- Please proceed first to the Hondō (Main Hall) directly in front of you. Enter the building and offer lighted incense at the censer, ring the bell, and pay your respects to the buddha images enshrined in the center of the hall and in the alcoves to the right and the left.
- From the Hondō, proceed along the path to the left and ascend the steps to the Benzaiten Hall, which is the main shrine associated with the nearby Iwaya Reiketsu (Iwaya Sacred Grotto). Ring the shrine’s bell using the rope; this announces your visit to the deity, Benzaiten, the goddess of wealth and the arts. Press the palms of your hands together in prayer, bow your head, and silently make a wish. If you prefer to pay your respects to Benzaiten in a more formal way, you may chant the Benzaiten mantra (“On Sora-soba-teiei sowaka”) and the Ugajin mantra (“On Uga-ya-jaya-gyara-bei sowaka”). Some worshippers also circumambulate the shrine in a clockwise direction.
- Continuing on, descend the steps to the shrine of Inari, the Shinto fox god associated with prosperity and success. Ring the bell to notify Inari of your visit.
- Proceed to the Iwaya Reiketsu, a long grotto excavated through the rock of the hillside during the Edo period (1603-1868). Near the entrance to the cave is the Gomagi Ki’nyūjo (Wish-Recording Counter), a long counter with wooden tablets upon which you may write a wish.
Access to Myōen-ji Temple
By Train and Bus
From Tokyo Station, take the JR train to Hiratsuka Station, then transfer to a Kanachu bus (routes 37, 38, or 76), get off at Myōen-ji-mae bus stop, and walk for one minute.
If you’re using the Odakyu Line, take a train from Odakyu Shinjuku Station to Hadano Station, then transfer to a Kanachu bus—either route 76 and get off at Myōen-ji-mae bus stop (1-minute walk), or route 38 and get off at Kanagawa University bus stop (3-minute walk).
By Car
For those coming from the Nagoya area, take the Tomei Expressway and exit at “Hadano-Nakai IC,” then head south on Kanagawa Prefectural Route 71 for about 10 minutes. After passing under the Tomei Expressway overpass, turn left immediately, continue straight along the narrow road beside the expressway, then turn right onto Route 77 and turn left at “Kanagawa University Entrance.”
For those coming from the Tokyo area, take the Tomei Expressway and exit at “Atsugi IC,” then follow the Odawara-Atsugi Road and exit at “Hiratsuka IC.” Continue along Route 62, merge onto Prefectural Route 77, and turn left at “Kanagawa University Entrance.”
Tsuchiya Zeniarai Benzaiten
Tendai Sect of Buddhism Wakōzan Iō-in Myōen-ji
Address: 1949 Tsuchiya, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa-ken, 259-1205 Japan
Tel: 0463-58-1436
Fax: 0463-58-1458
Email: benten@zg7.so-net.ne.jp
Hours: 8:30am–5:00pm
Myōen-ji is open from 6:00am to 9:00pm on special days of the traditional East Asian calendar known as tsuchi no tomi no hi 己巳の日 (earth-snake days), which occur once every sixty days. These days are linked with Benzaiten, the goddess of wealth and the arts, and are thus considered days of financial good fortune.
Myōen-ji charges no admission fee. Please feel free to come at any time.