Temple 38, Kongōfuku-ji
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Temple 38, Kongōfuku-ji
Kongōfuku-ji, The Temple of Everlasting Happiness, is Temple No. 38 on the Shikoku pilgrimage or Henro. It’s located overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the tip of the Ashizuri Peninsula. Cape Ashizuri is the southernmost point of Shikoku. The distance between Temple No. 37 and No. 38 Kongōfuku-ji is one of the longest, and takes about three days on foot. Even by car, it feels like a journey to the end of the world. Here, as you gaze out over the boundless Pacific, you can see the curvature of the earth. A promontory next to Ashizuri bears an uncanny resemblance to a wild boar.
What to see
Kongōfuku-ji is surrounded by trees unique to this subtropical, wind-blown coastal landscape.
Entering the gate, on the left are a stone statue of a sea turtle, a statue of Kūkai, the Shaka Hall and the belfry with two bells. The Shaka Hall is a vermilion and white octagonal hall with a seated statue of Shaka Nyorai. The temple office is to the right. Arranged around a central pond is main hall and to the right, are a Goma Hall and a pagoda, the Aizen Hall, Gyōja Hall and Gongen Hall, leading to the Daishi Hall. In the Gyōja Hall is a statue of En no Gyōja flanked by two demons, and the Gongen Hall has a statue of Kumano Sanshō Gongen, the temple’s chief deity.
One hundred and eight cast Buddhas are located on the far left of the precincts with several very large minerals. Various haiku memorials can be seen around the compound.
History
In addition to being a place of prayer for successive emperors, it was also a place of devotion for the Minamoto clan. At the end of the Heian period (794-1185), the temple became a place for ascetic practitioners since it was believed that the Pure Land was located in the south. In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), it was protected by the Kujō and Ichijō clans who were lords of the area. Later, in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when the Kumano faith became popular, the temple became a centre of asceticism, with Kumano Gongen as its patron deity. The temple was largely destroyed during the Warring States period, but was rebuilt by Yamauchi Tadayoshi, the second lord of the Tosa clan, in the Edo period.
In 2022, a grand festival was held to celebrate the 1200th anniversary of the temple’s founding, which is held once every 100 years.
Throughout its history, Cape Ashizuri has been a place where zealots seeking the Pure Land set sail southwards in boats equipped with nothing required for the maintenance of life. The little boats with their grisly remains caused much bewilderment in the Philippines and other southern islands where they washed up.
Legends
According to temple legend, the temple was founded in 822 by Kūkai on the orders of Emperor Saga. Before Kūkai left Tang China, he threw his wand (vajra) towards Japan. Carried on a purple cloud, it flew to Cape Ashizuri where Kūkai later found it and recognised the place as sacred. The name of the temple is said to derive from the word vajra. However, the name of the temple in Japanese suggest tripping and stumbling, indicating that the area was a difficult place to reach.
The temple has a strong association with Shugendō, whose practitioners are often likened to tengu, long-nosed supernatural beings with wings. Kūkai is said to have debated a tengu at Kongōchō-ji on the opposite side of Tosa Bay and then banished the pesky spirit to Ashizuri. In the 7th century, En no Gyōja is said to have exorcised a tengu spirit that inhabited Cape Ashizuri. However, since the legendary tengu were associated with the syncretic religion to which En himself belonged, this story has a peculiar ring, suggesting unseemly conflict between the various ‘founders’ of the pilgrimage.
Information
Name in Japanese: 金剛福寺
Pronunciation: kongofuku-ji
Address: Ashizurimisaki 214-1, Tosashimizu, Kochi 787-0315
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