Demon Mummy of Daijoin
A small sign pointed up a narrow path between bamboo to a temple, the kind of invitation I find heard to resist.
A group of red-bibbed statues was reassuring...
But what I found why quite weird and a little disturbing...
It is said to be the mummified remains of an Oni. Mummified priests I had heard of but not yet seen.
The figure is about 1.4 meters tall seated and estimated to be more than 2m if standing. It has two small horns, sunken eyes, and an open mouth. It was purchased in 1925 and then donated to the temple. A cursory examination by Kyushu University suggested it "may" be composed of a mix of human female and animal bones.
Daijoin is a vetry small temple and there were a couple of normal Buddhist statues....
The next big surprise was when I came down from Daijoin and crossed over the road I came to a huge temple.
This is Higashi Betsuin, the head temple of all Jodo Shinshu temples in Kyushu.
It was established in the late 17th century, but the current structures date to the mid-18th century but was rebuilt in 1880. It measures 28 by 25 metres. The gate is magnificent.
What I didn't know was that right next door is a similar, huge temple of the Jodo Sect, with a bigger main hall but a smaller gate. This day had produced two big surprises, but there was more to come.
if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.
I've seen a couple of mummified priests at temples in the Tsuruoka area in Yamagata-ken. They're worth making the eoffort to see them if you're in that area.
ReplyDelete