Kanpuku-ji (Yamakura, Katori)


Kanpuku-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon Buzan Sect located in Yamakura, Katori, Chiba Prefecture. The temple is one of two temples in Katori with the same name, the other being Makinosan Kanpuku-ji.

History

Kanpuku-ji was, by legend, founded by Kūkai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism. Kūkai, in a visit to the region, found that residents of the area were suffering from infectious diseases. Kūkai fasted and prayed to Takejizai-ten and the Kosodate Kannon. The residents offered Kūkai salmon from the nearby Kuri River and were suddenly cured. The festival of the temple, held on 7 October annually, includes the offering of a raw salmon during a Buddhist service. The temple was founded by Saichō, founder of Tendai Buddhism, in his visit to the area. Kanpuku-ji served as an auxiliary temple to the nearby Yamakura Shrine until the Meiji Restoration. In 1871, under the shinbutsu bunri movement, temples and shrines were formally separated. Buddhist objects were removed from the Yamakura Shrine and installed in Kanpuku-ji, a process that lasted into the early 20th century.

Structures

Kanpuku-ji is the 45th temple in the Kantō Hachijūhachikasho, a pilgrimage circuit of 88 Buddhist temples in the Kantō region of eastern Japan visited by, or associated with Kūkai.

Transportation

Kanpuku-ji is located approximately east of Narita International Airport, but is not easily accessible by public transportation. It can be reached by bus from Sawara Station or Omigawa Station on the JR East Narita Line.