Overview of Kudoji Temple

This temple is a temple of the Chisan School of Shingon Buddhism located within the natural beauty of Mt. Kudoji in the southern part of Hirosaki City, and its honorific mountain prefix is "Gokokuzan". The title of the temple is "Kannonin".

It is said that the temple was built by Ennin (Jikaku Daishi) around 800 A.D. with the principal image of Sho Kannon, and relocated to its present location in 1191. In 1619, the temple hall was rebuilt for the protection of the Hirosaki Domain and became a prayer hall for the domain. In 1626, it became one of the five Shingon temples in Tsugaru, along with Hyakutakuji Temple, Saishoin Temple, Kokujoji Temple, and Kyounji Temple.

During the grand festival every year, the "custom of Oshira-ko at Kudoji Temple" (an intangible folk cultural property that should be recorded and other measures taken by the national government) is held, in which the deity of production, Oshirasama from each family, is brought to the temple and prayed to.

Kudojiyama

Kudojiyama is a 663-meter-high mountain located at the northern end of the Dewa Sanchi Hills.

The Hirosaki City Children's Forest Visitor Center is located above the cemetery where the successive chief priests are buried. There is a torii gate on the hiking trail to the south of it, and about 20 meters up the trail is Haguro Shrine that has a spring that is said to be effective against eye diseases. Above it lies Genshuji Temple (principal image of Enmei Jizo) measuring 7.27 meters × 4.55 meters. And at the top of the mountain, there is an enshrinement hall called "Yama no Kami" (God of the Mountain).

Painting by Maruyama Okyo ~ “Hangonko no Zu”

The temple owns a ghost painting by Maruyama Okyo, who according to legend was the first to depict the image of a "legless ghost". This ghost painting was donated to the temple by the samurai Motonori Shuzen Morioka, a chief retainer of the Hirosaki Domain, on February 3, 1784, and is exhibited every year on May 18 of the lunar calendar. Since ancient times, it has been said that it always rains on the day that the painting is displayed to the public.

In a recent investigation, it was found that Motonori Shuzen Morioka, a retainer of the Hirosaki Domain who donated the painting, lost his wife and beloved concubine in succession, and had Okyo create the painting for their memorial service, after which it was dedicated to the temple. This clarified the background of how the most prominent artist of the Edo period left his painting in Hirosaki, and greatly increased its historical value, and for this reason, it was designated as a Tangible Cultural Property of Hirosaki City on May 25, 2021.

It is believed that outside of this temple, there is only one other authentic Maruyama Okyo’s painting, which has been kept in the United States.

Tsugaru Kasei Zanmai (Fire Festival)

In Shugendo (mountain worship and asceticism), it is generally referred to as "kasho zanmai," but in Tsugaru it is called "kasei zanmai." It is said that Tsugaru's shugen training has a history of about 400 years.

The festival is characterized by the Saito Goma (outdoor fire ceremony), followed by taimatsu (torch), tekka (iron hoe), kama (pot), and hiwatari (fire walking) ceremonies, in which the shugensha (practitioners of Shugendo) pray for world peace and good health by becoming the Fudo Myoo (the Immovable One) themselves. The rigorous practices performed by the shugensha are heroic and rough and are imbued with a sense of the divine.
*This ceremony is scheduled to be held only once each year in May.

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Gomagyo

What is Gomagyo?

The word goma is derived from the Sanskrit word homa, which was transcribed and came to be pronounced goma. It means to “burn” or “cook”.
The ritual originated from religious rites of Brahmanism and was practiced by the Aryans who entered India around the 13th century B.C., long before the rise of Buddhism.
Gomagyo, which was a Brahmanic religious ritual, was introduced to China, where it was adopted by Buddhism and introduced into esoteric Buddhism, and eventually spread to Japan.
It is said to have been introduced to Japan from China by Kukai, the founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, who was skilled at praying with goma.

How to perform Gomagyo

The principal image of the Buddha and gomadan altar are enshrined in a hall called the Gomado.
Firewood known as gomagi is thrown into the furnace opened in the center of the gomadan altar and is burned vigorously, and the participants make a sign with their hands and chant the Fudo Myoo mantra. Next, offerings are thrown into the furnace while the participants pray from the heart.
Rice, wheat, azuki beans, etc. are thrown as offerings, but this may vary depending on the content of the prayer.

What is the purpose of burning gomagi?

The flame of the goma represents the flame carried by the deity Fudo Myoo. Since Fudo Myoo is an incarnation of Dainichi Nyorai, the flame of the goma also represents the wisdom of the Buddha.
The gomagi that are thrown into the fire are not just pieces of wood, but represent our earthly desires, and Gomagyo is a ritual that is meant to burn away these desires with the fire of Buddha's wisdom.

What are the benefits of the goma prayer?

In addition to the aforementioned rituals for burning away earthly desires, Gomagyo is also performed to fulfill prayers.

Sokusai (good health) Removes natural disasters, illnesses, and other calamities.

Zoyaku (increase in profit) Improved health, success in business, school, etc.

Keiai (love and respect) Fulfillment of love, harmony in relationships.

Choubuku (exorcism) Bringing down an enemy, such as a demon (calamity).
Because of its strong magical element, only highly trained high priests known as "ajari" can perform this type of ritual.
It is believed that Shingon Buddhism gained a lot of support from aristocrats at the time because they strongly believed that the Gomagyo rituals brought by Kukai would bring them spiritual benefits.

Today, Gomagyo is widely practiced by athletes as a spiritual exercise to improve concentration and perseverance.

Living in the Heart of the Universe

Shingon meditation method: Ajikan

In the words of our founder, Kukai (Kobo Daishi), "That is not far from the Buddha's teachings, but it is close at hand in one's heart (the Buddha's wonderful teachings are in our hearts)" (Hannyashin-gyo Hiken). This means that our lives have been handed down from the macrocosm, from which we have received various experiences. Therefore, the answers to our problems and suffering lie within our hearts.

We refer to the life that we all share from the macrocosm as "Dainichi Nyorai," which in ancient India was represented by a single letter, " A". When we silently chant the " A" syllable in our mind, the words of truth of the holy Dainichi Nyorai, who keeps our bodies alive from the infinite source of the universe, and breathe in and out with the universe, our hearts will gradually come in contact with the universe. This is called "Ajikan".

Furthermore, the light of Dainichi Nyorai's supreme wisdom is depicted in the full moon, and the virtue of his gentle compassion is depicted in the lotus flower in the Ajikan hanging scroll. Ajikan is a meditation method in which one's body becomes a lotus flower and one's mind, which has no form, becomes a full moon, overlapping the lotus flower, and one's small moon ring, which is confined by the shell of the ego, gradually expands in the mind, and one feels that one finally becomes one with the macrocosm (Dainichi Nyorai).

This meditation method has been handed down as a secret tradition in Shingon Buddhism, but the Shingon sect has paved the way for learning it by making it easy for the general public to practice.

By experiencing Ajikan, you will feel as vast and tranquil as the universe itself, and you will be able to clear your mind of any doubts and look within yourself with a firm focus.

Mantra Meditation Ajikan Experience (Asokukan Meditation Technique)

First, wash your hands, rinse your mouth, and wear loose-fitting clothing.

(1) Choshin → Align your posture.
•Sit down in the half lotus position (sitting in a kneeling position or in a chair is also acceptable)
(Sit down comfortably by placing a seat cushion under your buttocks)
•Stabilize your center of gravity by slowly rocking your body back and forth and side-to-side two or three times.
•Position your hands in the “houkai-join” (cosmic mudra) pose.
•Relax your shoulders, straighten your back, and sit comfortably.
•Your eyes should be half-open, and your gaze should be fixed diagonally below the bridge of the nose.

(2) Chosoku → Regulate your breathing.
•Slowly exhale the pent-up air in your chest and stomach through your mouth.
•When all the air is exhaled and your mouth closes quietly, clean spiritual energy will naturally flow through your nose.
•Repeat this process and the whole body will be filled with clean spiritual energy and purified.

(3) Choshin → Prepare your mind. (Asokukan)
•Look at the Sanskrit letter “A" in front of you and try to feel that syllable “A” in your own heart.
•Open your mouth slightly and make an "A" sound, then gradually decrease the volume of that sound.
•At the end, say the "A" syllable without making a sound and close your mouth, and continue to visualize the "A" syllable in your mind.

(4) Shutsujou → Return from meditation to the original state.
•When signaled, stroke down with the palms of both hands from the head to the feet without touching the body directly, and when your breathing and blood circulation have returned to normal, join your hands together in front of your chest and end with a bow of gratitude for being alive.