Kannon Reigenki Saigoku Pilgrimage: No. 8 Yamato Hasedera / Kasuga Shrine Official Nakatomi no Nobuchika
“Kannon Reigenki Saigoku Pilgrimage No. 8 Yamato Hasedera, Kasuga Shrine Official Nakatomi no Nobuchika”
|Kannon Reigenki (Miraculous Stories of Kannon) |Saigoku (Western Provinces) |Pilgrimage No. 8 |Yamato |Hasedera Temple
My heart visits again and again, Hasedera Temple
The mountain and the vows are deep, in the valley river
|Kasuga |Shrine Official |Nakatomi no Nobuchika
During the |reign of |Emperor Go-Ichijo, |Nobuchika (the |eldest son of |Nobukiyo) |suffered from |snake-eye sores. |Despite trying |every medical |method, |he found no |relief. |As it was |originally |a karmic disease, |he felt there was |nothing to do but |pray to the |gods and Buddhas. |When he prayed |with single-minded |devotion to the |Kannon of this |Hasedera Temple, |he dreamed that a |crow flew from |the direction of |the temple, |pecked a small |snake out of |the sore, and |flew away. |He immediately |forgot the pain, |and before long, |he was healed. |In gratitude for |this great mercy, |he built the |long corridor.
* "|Kasuga |Shrine Official" refers to an official of the Kasuga Shrine in Nara.
* "|Snake-eye sores" refers to a type of sore called 'jaganchō' (snake-eye ulcer), which was said to cause death within seven days if contracted. Reference: Yamato Province Hasedera Temple Website "Noborirō (Covered Staircase)"
* "|Karmic disease" refers to a difficult illness believed to be caused by the retribution of evil deeds in a previous life.
Besides that, the |miraculous |efficacy of the |Future |Man, the |miraculous |efficacy of |Princess Chūjō, the |miraculous |efficacy of the |Tang |Horse-Headed |Lady, the |benefit of the |Queen of |Silla's |King Shōmyō, the |miraculous |efficacy of |Minister |Kibi |reading the |Yabadai |poem in |Great Tang, and the |miraculous |efficacy of |Genji's |Tamakazura |meeting the person |she was searching for; |the Sumiyoshi |Monogatari also |states that the |Kannon of |Hasedera Temple |is very effective |at granting |prayers for |love.
* "|Benefit" is a Buddhist term. |Benefit to |sentient beings. |It refers to a Bodhisattva bestowing benefits upon sentient beings.
|Already, in the |Noh chant, it is written:
The |mountain-path |Yamato road
Even to |Great Tang |it is heard, |Hasedera Temple |as I visit
It is no wonder it is |composed this way.
|There is no end to the |miraculous |efficacy of |past and present. |Just trust and |believe.
"|Miraculous |efficacy of the |Future |Man"
Reference: Yamato Province Hasedera Temple Website "Mirai-ga-kane (Bell of the Future)""|Miraculous |efficacy of |Princess Chūjō"
The daughter of Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Toyonari. It is said that Fujiwara no Toyonari and his wife, Murasaki no Mae, had been unable to have children for a long time, but after praying to the Eleven-faced Kannon at Hasedera Temple, they were blessed with Princess Chūjō."|Miraculous |efficacy of the |Tang |Horse-Headed |Lady"
Reference: Yamato Province Hasedera Temple Website "Bato-fujin (Horse-Headed Lady)""The |benefit of the |Queen of |Silla's |King Shōmyō" is a story included in the 'Uji Shūi Monogatari'.
Reference: 'Uji Shūi Monogatari Volume 15 [3] (The Story of the Silla Queen's Golden Couch)' (National Diet Library Digital Collections)"|Miraculous |efficacy of |Minister |Kibi |reading the |Yabadai |poem in |Great Tang"
This is an episode from when the Japanese envoy to Tang China, Kibi no Makibi, had an audience with Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. When Makibi was ordered by Xuanzong to decipher the 'Yabadai-shi' (Wild Horse Terrace Poem) and was troubled because he could not read it, he prayed to the Japanese gods and Buddhas, and a spider appeared, allowing him to decipher it.
Reference: 'Kibi Daijin Nittō Emaki (Scroll of Minister Kibi's Trip to Tang China) (Volume 1) (Volume 2) (Volume 3) (Volume 4)' (MFA Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 'Kibi Daijin Nittō Emaki (Copy)' (Cultural Heritage Online)"|Yabadai |poem"
Reference: 'Jibun Benkai: Shinkoku Kaisho, with Yabadai-shi' 'Yabadai-shi Senjimon Benkai Taizen' (National Diet Library Digital Collections)"|Miraculous |efficacy of |Genji's |Tamakazura |meeting the person |she was searching for"
This is an episode that appears in the 'Tamakazura' chapter of 'The Tale of Genji' (the Hasedera pilgrimage where Tamakazura prays for a reunion with her mother, Yūgao)."Even in the |Sumiyoshi| |Monogatari|..."
Reference: "Collection of Medieval Picture Stories (Sumiyoshi Monogatari)" (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History, Hyogo History Station Digital Exhibition), "Sumiyoshi Monogatari Emaki" (Suntory Museum of Art Collection Database)
※ Reference: "Saigoku, Chichibu, Bando 100 Kannon Reigen Kaihaiki", "Saigoku Sanjusansho Kannon Reigenki Zue", "Saigoku Sanjusansho Kannon Reigenki Zue", "Saigoku Sanjusansho Kannon Reigenki Zue" (National Diet Library Digital Collection)
Author's Note: ● indicates characters that could not be deciphered.
I will update this as needed when new characters are deciphered or when I notice typos or misreadings. For details, please read the "Self-Introduction / Disclaimer" section. 📖