Kongōfukuji
"Temple of Everlasting Happiness"
Alright, I have to admit, from the get go, I was really excited about coming to this temple. I mean, come on! It's called the Temple of Everlasting Happiness. What more could you want?? This is another temple founded by Kōbō Daishi, and since it's located on the very tip of Cape Ashizuri, it's frequently referred to as Ashizurisan. The temple itself is modeled after Potalaka (or Fudaraku in Japanese), meaning the Land of Pure Kannon. Kannon is the Japanese name for the bodhisattva (enlightened one) of compassion (you might be more familiar with the name Guanyin, which is her Chinese name).
The name Ashizuri means "foot stomping" in Japanese. This name comes from a legend about this temple as written in a book from the 14th century called Kagerō Nikki written by Lady Nijō. The story goes that there were two monks living at the temple; a master and a novice. One day, the novice monk came across another young monk who he discovered lurking about the temple grounds. Since he was a friendly, humble man, the novice offered to share his food with the stranger. This went on for a little while, but eventually the master monk discovered what his novice had been doing. He immediately ordered his novice to stop sharing his food with the mysterious young monk, who, when the novice explained the situation to his acquaintance, offered to bring the novice to his home to share food. The novice agreed, but as the two were headed towards the shore, the master followed them. When they were a little ways off, he called after them, "Where are you going?" The response he received was an unpleasant one-- "To the land of Kannon." The master immediately recognized his mistake, and overcome by regrets of his pride and spiritual blindness, stamped his feet repeatedly. Apparently, if you go and look, his footprints are still visible on the rocks by the shore.
I love the legends that come along with the different temples, but I think Allison and I should head for our lodgings for the night. We're both really tired, and we've still got a long journey ahead of us.
