Seishū-ji, temple in Otaru, Hokkaidō
Seishū-ji is a Shingon-shū Buzan-ha temple in Otaru, Hokkaido, whose main hall was built in 1893 and dismantled and moved to its present site in 1911. Its principal image is a ten-shaku Dainichi Nyorai, made before the Keichō era and formerly the main image of Mount Haguro. The temple is the 8th stop on the Hokkaido Thirty-three Kannon Pilgrimage.
In 1884 the Shugendō monk Ōami Seishū, 83rd abbot of Yudonosan Dainichibō, founded a lodging for his Hokkaido missionary travels in Otaru. In 1889 he sent a disciple, and the temple name was formally adopted in 1890. The main hall was built in 1893 and dismantled and moved to its present site in 1911.
The temple's name comes from Ōami Seishū, the 83rd head of Yudonosan Dainichibō, who founded a lodging for his Hokkaido missionary travels in Otaru in 1884. Seishū-ji is the 8th stop on the Hokkaido Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, so visitors may see pilgrims in white robes and sedge hats. Its main image is a ten-shaku Dainichi Nyorai, formerly the main deity of Mount Haguro.
Seishū-ji stands in Otaru, Hokkaido, and is the 8th stop on the Hokkaido Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, so visitors may encounter pilgrims making their rounds. The main hall was dismantled and moved to its present site in 1911, meaning the building you see is the relocated structure. Check opening arrangements locally before travelling, as the temple is an active Shingon-shū Buzan-ha site.
Seishū-ji holds a 9th-century statue of Shakyamuni attaining enlightenment, from India's Pāla period, kept as a temple treasure. The main image, a ten-foot Dainichi Nyorai made before 1600, came from Mount Haguro and was moved to Mount Yudono in 1885 before being installed here.
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