Gyoja Buddhism and the Local “Heritage”

Abstract

This paper deals with the Gyoja-Buddhism temple “Hannya-in” located in Kumamoto, Yatsushiro. Noboru Sawada, chief priest of Hannya-in, was tourist bus driver initially. When he visited the Sasaguri sacred place on business, he had a mystical experience although he was with his tourist passengers. This mystical experience caused him to begin his career as a Gyoja. Hannya-in is currently famous for Mizuko-kuyo, and many clients and believers come from the neighboring district for monthly and annual celebrations. In addition, this temple＇s cultural heritage embodies the history and tradition of Yatsushiro as a castle town. The founder of Hannya-in was a Yamabushi. He came to Yatsushiro as a retainer of Tadaoki Hosokawa in 1632, and then became a Yamabushi. The characteristics of Hannya-in are drawn from an interview with Sawada. It is not only the style of Sawada＇s religious practice, but also the history and tradition of this region. The author would introduce that this case is a corner of some fact, the Gyoja and Gyoja-Buddhism temple present many and varied forms in modern Japanese society.