4.Jodosan Kenshozenji Temple

Buddha and Mother Mary statues, and living national treasures:
A temple where feelings and history converge

　Kenshozenji Temple was founded in 1634. The somewhat lyrical name of the temple comes from the legend that the Buddha reached enlightenment upon seeing the morning star. The principal image, holy Bodhisattva, was the principal image at a temple that was burned down by Sorin Otomo Sorin in 1586. Forty-eight years passed before the opening of Kenshozenji Temple, but where it was hidden during that time remains a mystery. The famous Mother Mary Kannon statue is said to have been at the bottom of a river for 100 years during the time that Christianity in Japan was being suppressed. A Buddhist statue from a temple torched by Sorin, and a Christian statue that Sorin cherished. The fact that both of them escaped hardship to ultimately end up together in the same temple is quite interesting. In the main hall, there is also a self-portrait sculpture of the monk Kengan from the uninhabited Yamananji Temple. The wooden statue carved by Kengan, who is known as a famous monk, was made with such precision that it could easily be mistaken for the work of a master craftsman. The three statues, all representing various eras, seem to silently express the temple’s broadness of spirit.