Prayer Rock
This large boulder is said to grant wishes. According to local legend, a farmer named Mohei once lived in Noigura, in the present-day town of Kotoura. After suffering a great misfortune, he made the long journey to pray at Daisenji Temple. On his return, he traveled past Shinsei-in, one of Daisenji’s subtemples, where an elderly priest called to him. The man told Mohei that if he went a short way along the path to Yobitaki, a waterfall on Mt. Gōen, he would come to a valley with a giant rock. There, he should make an offering of a pebble from the Kinmon— or “Golden Gate,” a sacred cleft in the ridge that served as the entrance to temple grounds—then pray while concentrating on his wish. Mohei did as he was told, and his prayer was instantly granted.
Visitors still come here to pray, and some have left rocks of their own atop the boulder. The statue of Jizō Bosatsu to the right, known as the “Prayer Jizō,” perhaps lends strength to these prayers.