Goshuin of Sekkei-ji（雪蹊寺）#56（33th Temple）

#56 （33th Temple）

Sekkei-ji
雪蹊寺

Title: Sekkei-ji（雪蹊寺）
Temple No: 33
Principal Image: Yakushi Nyorai（薬師如来）
Price: 0.005ETH
Edition: 1/1
Additional Information:  
Originally named Kōfukuji, this temple was founded by Kōbō Daishi as a Shingon temple. It was converted to Rinzai Zen in the mid 16th century by the monk Geppō. Legend has it that Geppō stayed the night here and was awakened at midnight by the voice of a ghost saying "Mizu no ukiyo o itou tokoro kana." (Even the water is weary of life). Recognizing this as part of a classical poem, and realizing the the ghost was tortured because it couldn't remember the first part, he quoted it to the ghost, who promptly disappeared. When Chōsokabe heard this, he restored the temple and made it his ancestral temple (Bodaiji).

When Chōsokabe's son died, his ashes were buried both here and on Mt. Kōya. When Chōsokabe himself died, he was buried here and the temple name was changed to his posthumous name. Like the vast majority of temples on Shikoku, this temple was burned down during the purge of Buddhism at the beginning of the Meiji Period. The local people built a Shintō shrine on the newly cleared land and when the temple was rebuilt, it was built on land adjacent to the shrine. At that time, the original temple's statues (including 16 which, luckily, had been stored at Temple 31 and are considered National Treasures) were reinstalled.

The honzon was carved by Kōbō Daishi. This temple is historically known as the birthplace of the Tosa School of Confucian Studies (Nangaku).

Although a Zen temple, there is a large statue of Kōbō Daishi standing in the compound. This temple is one of only three Zen temples on the pilgrimage (the others being #11 and #15).

Frederick Starr says that the tomb of Chōsokabe Motochika is 18 cho south of this temple.