慈眼寺

Overview

Jigen-ji is a Soto Zen temple in Kesamaru, Furukawa-cho, in the city of Hida, Gifu Prefecture. Its principal image is Bato Kannon, the Horse-Headed Avalokitesvara, and it is known as the 14th stop on the Hida Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. In its grounds stands a celebrated cherry tree, the Chingo-zakura, designated a natural monument of Gifu Prefecture, which together with the venerable main image makes this temple distinctive.

Highlights

• ●The famous Chingo-zakura cherry tree, a natural monument of Gifu Prefecture
• ●The Bato Kannon enshrined as the 14th stop of the Hida Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage
• ●The venerable origin of the main image, said to have passed from Heizen-ji through Miyatani-ji
• ●A history rooted in a Kannon hall revived on the site of the great Miyatani-ji

History

Jigen-ji is said to have grown from a Kannon hall that once stood on the site of Miyatani-ji, a great temple of the old Hida Province. Chikuo Yuzon, the sixth abbot of Sogen-ji, revived it as a Soto Zen temple. Its principal image of Bato Kannon is a statue of noble origin, said to have first been kept at Heizen-ji before being moved to Miyatani-ji; when that temple was abolished, the image was enshrined here at Jigen-ji, carrying forward a long tradition of Kannon devotion.

Map

36.2623, 137.1507 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Set out from the townscape of Hida-Furukawa toward Kesamaru
2. 2Pay your respects at Jigen-ji's main hall, dedicated to Bato Kannon
3. 3Admire the Chingo-zakura, a prefectural natural monument, and reflect on its origin
4. 4Quietly bow as at the 14th site of the Hida Kannon pilgrimage

Did you know?

💡 The Chingo-zakura in the grounds is said to have been brought back by Daichu, the fifth abbot, from a temple in Yamato Province during a pilgrimage of prayer through western Japan. That a cherry tree carried from distant lands took root in Hida and grew into a famous tree speaks of the ties of travel and the story of faith.

Nearby spots