🗺️ Yudonosan Sohonzan Takimizu-ji Dainichibō湯殿山総本寺瀧水寺大日坊

The Daibutsu Hall of the Yudonosan Sohonzan Takimizu Temple is a Shingon sect temple said to have been founded by Kukai's disciple who crossed the sea after Kukai established the temple in the second year of Daido (807). Due to the long-standing prohibition of women entering Yudonosan, the temple enshrines the Yudonosan Daikokuten as the main deity and has built a worship hall for women to pay their respects. Within the temple, one can worship the Shingon monk Shin'yu, who became a living Buddha at the age of 96 in the third year of Tenmei (1783). To become a living Buddha, monks would enter a wooden box buried underground while still alive, sustaining themselves with minimal food such as fruits from trees, and through arduous chanting and ascetic practices, they would reach a state of deep meditation. During this time, to achieve the effect of bodily preservation, they would also drink tea made from the sap of the poison lacquer tree. Currently, there are 18 confirmed living Buddhas in Japan. In addition to the living Buddhas, there is a standing statue of Shakyamuni Buddha made of bronze and gold from the Asuka period, designated as an important cultural property by the nation, as well as various treasures including the 100-body Kannon, which was dedicated by the lord of the Shonai domain about 400 years ago. The secret Buddha statue created by Kukai is opened to the public every six years during the Year of the Ox and the Year of the Sheep in the Yudonosan sacred years, and the living Buddhas also change their garments in the same year. The "Living Buddha's Garment Amulet," which contains a piece of the garment worn by the living Buddha, is quite a popular talisman.

It is a precious temple where you can pay respects to the only 18 physical body Bodhisattvas in Japan. The temple houses many important cultural treasures. When using public transportation, you need to take a taxi from the nearest station. Photography of the physical body Bodhisattvas is prohibited.