Unganzenji, Buddhist temple in Nishi-ku, Japan.
Unganzenji is a Buddhist temple situated on the western slopes of Mount Kinbo, positioned behind the Reigando cave. The grounds spread across a forested hillside with stairs and pathways leading to various halls and cave sanctuaries.
The temple was founded by the Yuan-dynasty Zen monk Tōryō Eiyo, who came from Ningbo during Japan's Nanboku-chō period; no founding year is recorded. The main image, a four-faced stone horse-headed Kannon, is said to have been in the cave before the temple existed. The Heian-period poet Higaki is said to have visited it daily, a story known through Zeami's nō play Higaki. In his later years Miyamoto Musashi stayed in the Reigandō cave and wrote the Gorin no Sho.
Behind the temple, on the hillside, stand the Sixteen Arhats and Five Hundred Arhats, stone figures carved in the mid-Edo period. The main image is a four-faced stone horse-headed Kannon in the Reigando cave, which the Heian poet Higaki is said to have visited daily, a story told in Zeami's noh play Higaki.
The temple sits on a mountain slope, so sturdy footwear and some stamina are needed for the many steps. Visiting early in the morning works best, as the paths are less crowded and easier to navigate.
The Reigando cave holds the temple's main image, a four-faced stone horse-headed Kannon (Bato Kannon) that was already enshrined there before the temple was founded. The Noh play Higaki by Zeami tells of the Heian poet Higaki, who visited this Kannon daily.
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