Gankonsan Hogon-ji

滋賀県

Thirtieth temple of the Saigoku 33 — oldest of Japan's Three Great Benzaiten on Chikubu Island, Lake Biwa, with a National-Treasure Karamon and Fushimi-Castle Kannon Hall

Founded

724

Type

Temple

Visited

Want to go

Access

From Nagahama, Imazu or Hikone port, take the Lake Biwa sightseeing boat to Chikubu Island (25-40 min)

1664 Hayasaki-cho, Nagahama City, Shiga (Chikubu Island)

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Info

Temple

Founded 724

1302 years

Enshrined Deity

大弁才天（秘仏）／西国札所本尊：千手観音

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Founder

Gyoki (by order of Emperor Shomu)

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Buddhist Sect

Shingon Buzan-ha sect

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Overview

Hogon-ji is the thirtieth temple of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, set on Chikubu Island, a sacred islet of about two kilometers in circumference in northern Lake Biwa. Tradition holds that in 724 the goddess Amaterasu appeared in a dream to Emperor Shomu and declared the small island in Lake Biwa to be the sacred land of Benzaiten; the emperor accordingly dispatched the priest Gyoki, who built…

Origins

Tradition holds that in 724 the goddess Amaterasu appeared in a dream to Emperor Shomu and declared the small island in Lake Biwa to be the sacred land of Benzaiten; the emperor accordingly dispatched the priest Gyoki, who built a small hall and enshrined the Four Heavenly Kings. Gyoki rebuilt the t…

Pilgrimage Circuit

A pilgrimage of 33 Kannon temples — the oldest Kannon circuit in Japan, winding through 6 prefectures in the Kinki region and Gifu

Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

Principal Buddha

Senju Kannon

千

About Senju Kannon

Wooden seated Thousand-Armed Kannon by Tankei (Sanjūsangendō, Kyoto, National Treasure, Kamakura period)

Senju Kannon (Thousand-Armed Kannon): rescues all beings through a thousand methods, with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Usually represented with 42 arms standing for the full thousand — an expression of boundless compassion.

Kannon Forms · Seven Kannon

聖

Shō

十

Jūichimen

千

Senju

如

Nyoirin

馬

Batō

准