藥王寺, Buddhist temple in Ome, Japan.
Yakuoji is a Shingon Buzan-ha temple on Mount Shichikoku in the Imai district of Ome, Tokyo, with the mountain name Shichikokuzan and Yakushi Nyorai as its principal image. Its main hall stands on the grounds, and in late April and early May azaleas bloom across a wide area of the precinct, drawing many visitors.
Yakuoji is said to have been founded during the Kakuyo era (1338-1342). It belongs to the Shingon-shu Buzan-ha school, its mountain name is Shichikokuzan, and its principal image is Yakushi Nyorai. The temple grounds are a designated historic site of Ome City, and the bronze bell is a designated cultural property of the city.
On 3 February the Setsubun-e moves in procession from the main hall up the hill to the Fudō-dō, where a shibagoma fire rite is held; the presiding priest comes from Shiofune Kannon-ji while Yakuō-ji's own priest addresses Fudō Myōō. Free amazake is served and a bean-throwing with a raffle follows, drawing several hundred people. The temple's 22nd abbot, Kōshi (1915–2005), was the first director of the Imai Hoikuen nursery.
The temple stands on a hillside in Imai, Ome, with the main hall below and the Fudō-dō on the mountain above; the Setsubun procession climbs from one to the other. The azaleas open across much of the grounds from late April to early May, when crowds are heaviest. The halls are reached on foot along sloping paths.
The temple's honzon is Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of healing, and its sangō (mountain name) is Shichikokuzan. The copper bell on the grounds is a cultural property designated by Ome City, and the temple site itself is a city-designated historic site.
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