The honzon of Tada-ji temple in Hamada is an Eleven-faced Kannon, but it is a secret Buddha only visible once a year.
However, there is a Thousand-armed Kannon to be seen...
And to my great delight, several Fudo statues......
However, perhaps the most interesting thing to see are the 59 wooden statues which I have earlier referred to as "drowned Buddhas".
They were discovered floating in the sea below Tada-ji in 1870.
They have been dated to the Kamakura Period, and are about 1,000 years old.
In 1868 the new government unofficially encouraged anti-Buddhist sentiment, and in some areas this led to the destruction of many temples and their treasures.
On the Oki islands for instance, every single temple was destroyed. In other areas nothing was touched.
It seems to have been very much based on situations where local priests were particularly oppressive to the people, rather than any ideological or religious reasons.
The currents along the coast here are from the west, so its seems that the statues drifted from the west over a two year period.
One would think that with such a major collection of statues, and the known currents and time frames it would be possible to figure out where they came from.
Apparently not. The whole anti-Buddhist movement is avoided as a topic, which may explain the reluctance to find out....
After already being very old and probably somewhat deteriorated due to age, plus two years knocked around in water, has led to some eerie expressions on some of the statues.....
If you are visiting Tadaji, it is well worth ringing the bell at the priests house and office and having them open the main hall for you.
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