Honen-in Temple

Byakusadan-Terrace of White Sand (白砂壇)

Passing through the entry gate, which is covered with moss, you’ll see two small mounds of sand on both sides of the path. These sand mounds purify one’s body and soul. Usually temples or shrines have a basin to wash hands at their entrance, but this temple has these sand mounds instead. Every three or four days a monk draws a new pattern on the mounds in the early morning. One day they look like waves on water, while on another day they may look like the shapes of flowers or the shapes of maple leaves, and so on.

Lecture Hall (講堂)

Behind the white sand mounds is the store house. Sometimes concerts or exhibitions are held here.

Entrance to the Main Hall

As you cross the bridge over the pond, you will see an entrance straight ahead. Usually the entrance of the main temple building is closed. Sometimes the priest holds lectures, so if you get a chance, take off your shoes and enter to listen.

Main Hall

A statue of this temple’s main deity, Amida-nyorai (阿弥陀如来坐像), is displayed in the main hall. The wooden statues of the priest Honen and the priest Bambu are also enshrined here.

Visitors can relax and enjoy looking at books and picture books that are on shelves at the front of the main hall.

On the other side of the hall, there is a statue of the priest Nincho as an image of the Jizo Bodhisattva.

Shishiodoshi (しし脅し, a deer scare)

If you listen carefully around the main hall, a single knocking sound comes from somewhere every one or two minutes. It is the sound of a shishiodoshi. This device is made from a short, hollow bamboo pole.

The bamboo is placed above a basin so that it gets filled with water little by little. As the bamboo tube fills with water, it becomes too heavy and falls down. Then the empty bamboo pole falls right back to its previous position, and hits a stone with a “thud.” That is how the sound is made.

It was invented to scare deer or wild pigs in order to keep them out of the garden, but now it is mostly enjoyed for its gracious sound, Japanese style garden.

Graveyard

Many historic Japanese persons are buried in the graveyard next to Honenin. Why did they choose this temple? Because Honen-in is quiet and has a local feeling, and it is in this area where they might have developed their ideas for novels on philosophy. Among the famous Japanese buried here are:

Literary scholar and novelist Junichiro Tanizaki (谷崎潤一郎)

Japanese-style painter Heihachiro Fukuda (福田平八郎)

Economist Hajime Kawakami (河上肇)

Philosopher Shuzo Kuki (九鬼周造)

Many other scholar and writer tombs are here.

This graveyard is south from the entrance gate, so it is a little distant from the grounds of the temple.

Events as “Sangha”

Sangha means a “community,” and is originally sanskrit.

Occasionally the head priest of Honen-in, Shinsho Kajita (梶田真章), holds forums for people who like this templeKajita often gives a sermon, and also many artists or musicians hold concerts or exhibitions in this temple.These events are called Honen-in Sangha, which means means collective.They are not only about Buddhism, but also about the arts, environmental problems, seasonal stories, tea, and so on.Some events need reservations, so if you have interest, please check the temple’s website.