Title Mirokudo Hall

  • Wakayama
Topic(s):
Shrines/Temples/Churches
Medium/Media of Use:
Interpretive Sign
Text Length:
≤250 Words
FY Prepared:
2019
Associated Tourism Board:
hashimoto・itokoikikankokyogikai

弥勒堂

弥勒堂は、高野山の開祖である空海という僧(諡号 弘法大師、774-835)の母、玉依御前の廟として建てられました。内部に祀られている弥勒菩薩(未来仏)の見事な木像は国宝に指定されています。

弥勒堂は厚い桧皮で葺いた屋根のついた宝形造です。建築様式は平安時代(794-1185)のものですが、内部の欄干の建設は鎌倉時代(1185-1333)後期の半ばに行われました。弥勒堂の建物はは1965年に国の重要文化財に指定されました。

弥勒堂は、入滅後に悟りを開いた空海の母のご利益を求める女性の参拝者にとりわけ人気があります。和歌山県出身の作家・有吉佐和子が『紀ノ川』という作品中で参拝者が乳房の形をした供物や絵馬を残す慣習について記した後、祈りに訪れる人々はこの慣習を復活させました。


Mirokudo Hall

This Buddha hall was built as the final resting place of Tamayori Gozen, the mother of the priest Kukai (known posthumously as Kobo Daishi; 774–835). Enshrined inside is a remarkable wooden statue of the Miroku Bosatsu (the Buddha of the Future), a designated National Treasure.

The hall is built in the tented-roof style with a thick roof of cypress bark. While the style dates back to the Heian period (794–1185), the construction of the interior balustrades dates from the middle of the later Kamakura period (1185–1333). The building was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1965.

The hall is particularly popular with female worshippers, who come to ask for divine help from Kukai’s beloved mother, who attained Buddhahood after her death. After the custom of leaving behind a breast-shaped offering or prayer plaque (ema) was described in The River Ki, a book by Wakayama-born author Sawako Ariyoshi, those coming to pray revived the practice.


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