Yokoyama Fudoson

This serene temple is part of Sanriku Fukko National Park, which extends along the Sanriku Coast, the 250-kilometer stretch of Pacific coastline bordering Aomori, Iwate, and Miyagi Prefectures. Yokoyama Fudoson is considered one of the most important temples that honor Fudo Myo-o, a powerful guardian deity in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism. Its buildings, set on spacious grounds in a cedar forest, are of great historical and cultural significance. The fish in the spring-fed pond are considered sacred and said to be messengers of the deity.

Yokoyama Fudoson traces its origins to the year 1156, when a hall was built to enshrine a large statue of Fudo Myo-o that had reportedly washed ashore. It is a joroku-size (4.8-meter) figure, which is the largest standard size for Buddhist images.

Over time, the original temple fell into disrepair, and its former site is now known as the oku-no-in (inner sanctuary) of the present Fudoson. In 1504, the local daimyo lord of Yokoyama revived the temple, and had it converted to the Soto school of Zen Buddhism.

In 1684, Date Tsunamura (1659–1719), the fourth daimyo of the Sendai Domain, commissioned an appraisal of the statue by a distinguished Buddhist sculptor from Kyoto. The statue was declared to be a creation of the revered priest Kukai (774–835; posthumously known as Kobo Daishi). Tsunamura invited Buddhist sculptors to travel from Kyoto to the site to carry out a full restoration. In the following year he oversaw the reconstruction of an impressive hall to house the deity.

A 10-centimeter-tall golden tainai-butsu sits inside the larger Fudo Myo-o statue as a “hidden Buddha.” It is displayed to the public only once every 12 years, during the spring festival in the Year of the Rooster. Upcoming years of the Rooster are 2029 and 2041.

 

Enduring craftsmanship

In 1926, a fire that broke out in a nearby residence spread to the Fudo Hall, reducing it to ashes. Fortunately, the statue was rescued, and the current hall was completed two years later. Modern-day experts have confirmed the statue’s origins in the Heian period (794–1185), and it was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1997.

In 2012, work was carried out over two years at the Kyoto National Research Institute for Cultural Properties to restore the statue. It had sustained damage during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and had generally deteriorated over time.

Also noteworthy is the temple’s bronze five-story pagoda, built in 1776 by craftsmen from the Sendai Domain, and a rare surviving example of Edo-period metal architecture. Each tier represents one of the five elements of Japanese Buddhist philosophy: earth, water, fire, wind, and void.

The pagoda, which stands around eight meters tall, was designated a cultural property by Miyagi Prefecture in 1957. Since it was also damaged in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, there are plans for its full restoration to be undertaken for the first time in over two centuries.