Sekizan Zen-in｜赤山禅院

With a big torii gate as a starting point, the passage going through the temple gate is lined with colorful flags, and you will also notice a gigantic stone lantern immediately beyond the gate. The temple complex of Sekizan Zen-in lies atop a short flight of stairs, with a water basin for purification on the right and a prayer hall at the front. Right in the middle of the roof of the prayer hall you will see a statue of a monkey sitting under a metal net. It is holding a gohei, a wooden wand decorated with zigzag streamers, and suzu bells, both of which are used in rituals for exorcising negative energy. The monkey serves as a sacred guardian, placed here to protect the capital and the Imperial Palace against malign influences coming from the “demon gate” in the northeastern direction. It is said that the monkey used to escape every night to make mischief, which is why it was covered with a net to make it stay in place.

Following the route indicated on the signs, you will come across two large rings of wooden prayer beads, one at the temple’s main hall and another near the end of the route past the Fudō-dō hall. Think of a wish when you step through the first ring and continue to meditate until you pass through the second. If the wish still feels important, pray to the deity for help in your effort to make it come true. Be careful not to step on the beads, as they have the wishes of many people inscribed on them!

In addition to being used to count the number of prayers made, juzu beads represent an important concept of becoming one with the Buddha by chanting mantras. Every year on November 23^rd, when the maple leaves are at their most beautiful, Sekizan Zen-in holds its Juzu Kuyō ritual to express respect and gratitude to prayer beads that are no longer in use before laying them to rest with a memorial service.

Passing through a large ring of beads and under a vermilion gate decorated with paper lanterns, visitors pray at the main hall of Sekizan Zen-in. Elevated on the wooden platform of the honden are two large komainu guardians in painted wood, and round wooden plaques with Sanskrit letters can be seen under the roof. It may come as a surprise, as Sekizan Zen-in is a Buddhist temple, but this is a reflection of the syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto worship that existed in Japan in the past. Despite the policy of separating Shinto and Buddhism implemented by the Meiji government, Sekizan Zen-in managed to retain both its temple and shrine aspects, which is most evident in the honden.

In a spot between the hall enshrining Jizō and the hall dedicated to Benzaiten, one of the seven gods of fortune, you will see 16 moss-covered stone statues of arhats and 33 statues of Kannon against a bamboo grove backdrop. Arhats are disciples of Buddha who have attained enlightenment but remain in the world, protecting the Buddhist faith and awaiting the coming of the prophesied Buddha Maitreya, and they are vividly portrayed here in a variety of postures and facial expressions. Kannon as the goddess of mercy is stated to have 33 forms in the Lotus Sutra, and while the statues are not the exact 33 listed there, the general belief is the same: Kannon appears in many different forms in order to help people in need.

Sekizan Zen-in is the oldest of the Miyako Shichifukujin-mairi (Kyoto’s Seven Gods of Fortune) pilgrimage temples, and one of its halls enshrines Fukurokuju, the god of happiness, wealth, and longevity. He is traditionally portrayed as a bald old man with a very high forehead, and the small Fukurokuju figurines that hold the omikuji fortunes offered at the temple are shaped exactly like that! Buy a fortune or an amulet and get your Miyako Shichifukujin stamp here at the small office. You can pray to all the other gods of fortune here, too, as their statues are lined up next to the Fukurokuju Hall.

A unique and extremely rigorous ascetic practice called Sennichi Kaihō (“circling the mountains for one thousand days”) carried out by Enryaku-ji temple requires following a prescribed route around Mount Hiei, offering prayers at the various halls, temples, and other holy sites along the way. The practitioners wear white burial robes and special head gear, and carry a dagger and rope symbolizing their readiness to end their life in case of failure. The origin of this practice is attributed to a monk of Enryaku-ji called Sōō, a disciple of Ennin, and it can be ranked among the most demanding physical and mental challenges in the world. The period of one thousand days is spread out over seven years, and during the most arduous sixth and seventh year the route is extended to include a visit to Sekizan Zen-in. Very few monks resolve to embark on this pilgrimage, and only a handful have managed to complete it (just 14 since the end of the World War II and 51 in the existing records since 1571). Sennichi Kaihō was most recently accomplished by Kōgen Kamahori, head priest of Zenjū-in temple in Otsu (Shiga Prefecture) in September 2017.