Fujito Ishi
Fujito was a famous 12th century battle site and legend claims that the Rock of Fujito was gathered after the battle as a memento. It subsequently became associated with military victory as well as the most coveted of monumental rocks amongst the feudal lords. The stone eventually was incorporated into the collection of the regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who initially placed it in the garden of his Jurakudai mansion in Kyoto. Following the renowned Cherry-blossom Banquet at Daigo-ji in 1598, Hideyoshi ordered the rock to be transferred to the garden that was under construction at Sanbō-in. There it was incorporated in the garden design to function as what is called the “leading rock.”
The stone also permits a Buddhist interpretation due to its placement in relation to other features in the garden. Flanked by two smaller stones, the Fujito Ishi group is taken to be an Amida Triad—an iconographical depiction of Amida and two Bodhisattvas descending from heaven to welcome believers to the Pure Land paradise.