5/26/2020

Asakusa Kannon Legends

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. Famous Places and Power spots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
. Legends from Asakusa .
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Asakusa Kannon densetsu 浅草観音伝説 Legends from Asakusa Kannon Temple
台東区元浅草 Taito ward, Moto-Asakusa 


. Asakusa Kannon Temple  浅草観音 .

. Kannon Bosatsu 観音菩薩 伝説 legends about Kannon .

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. Asakusa 浅草 district in Edo .




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. Japanese Legends - 伝説 民話 昔話 – ABC-List .


................................................................................. Tokyo 浅草 Asakusa


Asakusa Kannon 浅草観音 and temple 浅草寺 Senso-Ji, Asakusadera .

Around the year 1802, a country bump came to Edo for sightseeing. After visiting the Asakusa Kannon he then was on his way back home. On the bank of the river he met a very drunk man who attacked him and killed him . . . at least the man lost his conscience and fell to the ground. When he came back to his senses, he felt for the amulet of the Asakusa Kannon, which he had placed into his breast pocket. The imprint of Kannon had disappeared from the paper. 
Now he knew that Kannon had taken his place and saved his life.


In the compound is the temple
. Denboo-In 伝法院 Denboin, Denbo-In .

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Kannon 観音 / Kanzeon 観世音

A man named 土師臣中知 Haji no Nakatomo, an official during the Asuka period around 628, came to the Asakusa area. He heard the story of two brothers, 檜熊浜成 Hinokuma Hamashige and 武成 Takenari. They worked as fishermen. One day they fished a statue of Kannon out of the river, but threw it back. At another place in the river they again caught the Kannon statue in their net. Nakatomo realized it was a special statue and venerated it in his home, making it into a temple and he himself became a priet.
But the statue smelled very much like fish, so he used a lot of incense to get rid of the smell.



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ubagaike 姥ヶ池 the pond of the old woman
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In the old days this unremarkable park with its little pond was shallow marshland that grew smaller and smaller as the city of Edo (old Tokyo) grew around it. In 1891 the local government finally had the marsh filled in and the present day park was put in its place. The name of the pond comes from an old legend concerning a stone pillow housed at a nearby temple.
During the reign of Emperor Yomei (585-587 A.D.), in a place called Asajigahara, there was a small trail connecting Oshu and Shimofusa. It was the only trail in the area and along it there was only a single house, inhabited by an old woman and her beautiful daughter. Any traveler wishing to rest on his journey had to stop over at their house where the old lady would promptly bash his head in with a stone pillow and steal his clothes and belongings. The old lady would then dump the bodies in a nearby pond.
Naturally her daughter was not happy with this and pleaded with the old lady to stop the killings but there was no persuading her. The body count reached 999 and the daughter was desperate to stop the killing.
One day a young man came to stay over and the old lady, as was her habit, took the stone pillow and promptly split his skull open. Upon closer inspection though, the old lady found that she had killed her own daughter who had gone in disguise, hoping that this final sacrifice would persuade the old lady to stop the killings. As the old lady was going mad from the realization of her deeds she took her daughter’s corpse and threw herself and the corpse together into the pond.
Since that day, the pond has been knows as Ubagaike, the Pond of the old Lady
(old hag might be a better translation).
- reference source : tokyobling.wordpress.com.. ubagaike.. -
The daughter turned into daija 大蛇 a large serpent and became the protector deity of the area.
. daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake - legends .

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. henjoo nanji 変成男子 a boy with a mysterious story .
was saved through the grace of Asakusa Kannon.

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. Ennin - Jigaku Daishi 慈覚大師 / 慈覺大師 . - (794 – 864)
and the old man with a white beard

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. Legends about Jizo Bosatsu - 地蔵菩薩 .

Around 1760, there lived a priest near the Asakusa Temple, called Arigata Bo ありがた坊 "the thankful priest".
His other name was Rakushin 楽心 (rakuchin . . . to feel at ease), but he was deaf.
He had to make regular prayers at the Jizodoo 地蔵堂 Jizo Hall. When he recited his first prayer, he heard the voice of Jizo callilng him 楽心 Rakushin. Next Jizo called arigatoo gozaimasu 「ありがとうござります」 "thank you very much".
Since then he could hear again and also talk to people.


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. Kannon Bosatsu 観音菩薩 伝説 legends about Kannon .
migawari Kannon 身代り観音 Kannon as a substitute
As the belief in Kannon spread, a man was walking along the Nihonzutsumi embankment when a robber stabbed him. All his money was stolen, but he did not get any wounds. This happened in 1806.

. Migawari ... the deities substitute for us .

Nihonzutsumi 日本堤 Nihon Embankment, Japan dike district in Taito ward


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raijin 雷神 God of Thunderstorm / 浅草寺雷神門 Asakusa temple Kaminari mon gate


. Raijin 雷神 God of Thunder .
. To protect a child from 疱瘡 Hoso smallpox .

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Raijin-mon gate at Sensō-ji Temple of Kinryū-zan
金龍山浅草寺雷神門之図

Kaminari-mon gate (Fū-Raijin-mon gate) is situated at the entrance to the grounds of Sensō-ji Temple.
It is said that the original was built in 942 (the fifth year of Tengyō) and located somewhere around Komagata, Taitō Ward.
It is said that Fūjin and Raijin (The gods of wind and thunder) statues were enshrined for the first time when the gate was moved to the current location after the Kamakura period.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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. uma 馬 koma 駒伝説 horse legends .
The horse painted on an ema 絵馬 votive tablet walks off to feed and cause trouble at night. To appese it, reins were painted.

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浅草仲見世 Asakusa Nakamise

. tanuki 狸 - mujina 狢 - racoon dog, badger legends .
tanukibayashi 狸囃子 "Tanuki Orchestra"
In 1877, at the home of the Ohashi family in 浅草仲見世 the Nakamise, Asakusa, for about half a year many weird things happened.
Well, this was a curse that goes back some time.
An ancestor of the Ohashi family was a Samurai attendant of 伝法院 the temple Denbo-In. He had to clear a bamboo grove in the temple compound, where tatari 祟り a curse was lingering. To appease the deity, a small Shrine was erected to appease the angry deity.
As a protector amulet against fire and disaster, the golden statue of a tanuki was erected.



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- reference : nichibun yokai database -


. Edo, Tokyo 江戸 - 東京 - 伝説 Legends Index .


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. Legends from Asakusa .

. Taitoo, Taitō 台東区 Taito Ward .

. Kaido 街道 Highways - ABC Index .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .

. Japanese Architecture - The Japanese Home .

. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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