石薬師寺, Buddhist temple in Suzuka, Japan.
Ishiyakushiji Temple is a Shingon Buddhist temple of the To-ji school in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, with the mountain name Takatomi-zan. Its main hall, the Yakushi-do, is a wooden single-storey building of three bays by four, with a hip-and-gable roof covered in tiles. The temple grounds also contain a stone Buddha carved into a living rock and a hall dedicated to Kobo Daishi.
According to temple tradition, the monk Taichō founded the site in 726 after seeing a great rock appear and recognizing it as a manifestation of Yakushi Nyorai. In 812 Kūkai carved Yakushi into the rock and performed an eye-opening ceremony; Emperor Saga then made it an imperial vow temple. The halls burned in the Tenshō era (1573–1592) and were rebuilt in 1629 by Hitotsuyanagi Kenmotsu, lord of Kōbe Castle; the main hall dates from that reconstruction.
The temple's name comes from Ishiyakushi-shuku, the 44th post station of the Tōkaidō, which ran along the temple's east side; the temple was renamed after the station in 1616. Annual rites include Hatsuyakushi on 8 January, the Daibanya Hana-e on 8 April and the opening of the main image on 20–21 December. The hibutsu stone Buddha is washed during the 20 December o-susu-harai.
The temple lies about 2 km west of Kawachi Station on the JR Kansai Line, or 0.5 km south of the Ishiyakushi intersection on Route 1. The Tokaido runs along its east side. The stone steps from the gate into the grounds were rounded for the safety of passing lords, and they remain in use.
The temple's stone Buddha, a 190 cm line-carved granite image of a standing Nyorai, is said by temple tradition to have been cut by Kobo Daishi into a boulder still rooted in the ground. Normally kept hidden, it is washed clean each year on 20 December during the osusuharai cleaning rite.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,767 contributors worldwide.