Kakurin-ji Temple, Kakogawa’s Oldest Temple

According to temple legend, Kakurin-ji dates back to the 6^th century (589 C.E.) when a monk from Korea by the name of Eben [恵使] came to the area to hide from the Mononobe clan, a powerful clan that opposed Japan adopting the Buddhist faith. Later, the defeated the Mononobe clan at the hands of Prince Shotoku, the prince sought out Eben in order to study from him.  To spread Buddhism, Prinbce Shotoku built what is today Kakurin-ji. It was originally called “Shitenno-ji” because it enshrined the Shitenno. However, when Ennin, the abbot of from Enryaku-ji, came to the temple after his studies in China, he enshrined a statue of Yakushi Nyorai statue, which is the main statue of Kakurin-ji.

Despite being burned down a number of times from wars, Kakurin-ji still has a number of old treasures, including a famous statue of Aitata Kannon earning it the nickname of “the Horyu-ji of the Harima* region”

*Harima is southeast Hyogo Prefecture

Once we entered the temple grounds, the building right after the gate was the main building, hondo.  

Kakurin-ji’s hondo is very old and unique in that it combines different architectural techniques, thus registered as national treasure. The hondo enshrines five statues, including the main deity, Yakushi Nyorai. Sadly, these statues are only open for public viewing once every 60 years, which means the next viewing will be in 2057. 

Right next to the hondo is another national treasure building, the Taishi-do. In fact, this building is actually the oldest existing building in the entire prefecture. Moreover, Kakurin-ji is only one temple in Hyogo Prefecture that has more than one national treasure building, which is exactly why we decide to visit this temple! 

While the Taishi-do and the hondo are the main attractions at Kakurin-ji, there are many other interesting buildings on the temple grounds!

Kannon-do

Kannon-do originally enshrined a statue of Aitata Kannon. Allegedly, when a thief tried to steal the statue, he bumped the statue which then said “Aitata” (ouch). The statue was built some time in the 6 or 7th century, which means it is one of the oldest one in Japan. You can see it in the temple museum and it is interesting Aitata Kannon’s back is a little bit bent!  

Shinyakushi-do

In the corner of the temple grounds is the Shinyakushi-do. Because the public cannot often see the main Yakushi Nyorai statue in the hondo, Kakurin-ji enshrines a different Yakushi Nyorai statue here that is open to the public year-round.

While Yakushi Nyorai is the main statue here, the statue that attracts the most attention is the  Makora Daisho [魔虎羅大将].If you closely look at his face, you will notice he is winking!! Originally, the statue held an arrow, checking the arrow to see if it was straight or not. At some point the arrow became lost, so now it looks like it is just winking at you.