Tokujoji Princess Chujo Temple

 

Tokujoji, a Jodo sect temple on the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo is commonly known as Chujohime Temple.

Sometimes referred to as the Japanese Cinderella, the folktale of Chujohime, Princess Chujo, has some connection with historical legends and numerous versions exist. I will give the version based here at Tokujoji.

The princess was born in 747, to a court noble, Fujiwara Toyonari. her mother died when she was three and her father remarried. Her stepmother disliked her and when she was 13 had the princess abandoned in the mountains near here. The stepmothers servant was supposed to hill the prinvess but took pity on her and built her a hut for shelter.

While in the hut the princess copied a thousand copies of a sutra over three years. her hut was named Anyo-in. Centuries later it was renamed Tokujoji. It was moved several times until 1628 when it ws moved to its current location.

The main hall dates to 1752. There is also the Kaisan-do housing statues of Chujohime and her husband.

The metal walkway in photo 3 is used for a ceremony, unique to the temple,  with a parade of Bodhisattvas, young women wearing golden masks....

The temple owns several artworks said to have been created by Chujohime. They were donated by Taimadera, a temple connected to another version of the Princess Chujo story.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Saigoku Pilgrimage and Kumano Kodo was on the nearby Itoga Inari Shrine.

If you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.