Injō-ji Temple
引接寺
Injō-ji Temple, dedicated to Enma, marks the boundary between worlds and displays ancient statues.
What it is
- Temple dedicated to the deity Enma.
- Stands on its current site since the eleventh century.
- Marked the boundary between worlds of living and dead.
What to see
- Main hall contains 2.4-meter-tall statue of Enma.
- Statue flanked by attendants: judgment reader and record taker.
- Many stone statues of Jizo outside main hall and grounds.
- Some Jizo statues are hundreds of years old.
When to go
- 16th day of every month, "Enma Day," to see statues.
- Resident priest performs memorial service on Enma Day.
In detail
In Buddhist cosmology, the underworld is ruled by a deity known as Enma, who passes judgment on the souls of the dead. Injoji Temple is dedicated to the worship of Enma and has stood on its current site since the eleventh century, when this place was at the very edge of Kyoto. North of here were the city’s burial grounds, so the temple was said to mark the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead.
The main hall contains a 2.4-meter-tall statue of Enma, carved in 1488 and flanked by statues depicting his attendants: a judgment reader and a record taker. The former holds a scroll that contains all the deeds of mortal beings and is used to determine their destination in the underworld. These statues can be viewed on the 16th day of every month, or “Enma Day,” when the resident priest performs a memorial service in the hall.
As Injoji Temple conflates Enma with the bodhisattva Jizo, the savior of all sentient beings, and treats them as the same deity, many stone statues of Jizo stand outside the main hall and throughout the temple grounds. Some of these statues are hundreds of years old and have been excavated from locations along the road that once led to the burial grounds.
Text: 観光庁 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース. Reproduced unchanged. The notes above were written from that text by Japan Gems.
Where it is
京都府京都市上京区千本通廬山寺上る閻魔前町34 Open in Google Maps
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