Horakuji Temple 3 on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

 

The Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage consists of 36 temples, but begins in Osaka with a clutsre of half a dozen close together, so I was visiting temple number three by lunchtime of my first day walking it. It is located in Tanabe, south central Osaka.

In the Edo period it became known commonly as Yakuyoke Tanabe Fudoson, yakuyoke being the "unlucky" years that the temple offered protection against. The hinzon is a Fudo, and the large flaming sword is like a sign making the temple easy to find in the highky built-up area.

The temple was founded by the son of the famous Taira no Kiyomori, Taira no Shgemori in 1178. The Kumano Kodo passes nearby and it is said that he established the temple here after completing the Kumano pilgrimage. The temple was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga, but rebuilt shortly afterwards.

The 3 storeyed pagoda is new, being built in 1996 and supposedly houses Buddha relics brought from China.The temple is home to an ancient silk painting of Fudo Myo, and is also where the famous monk and sanskrit scholar Jyuin studied.