Home of the Shibarare Jizo
This gem of a temple is home to one of the more unusual Buddhist saints – the Shibarare (pronounced she-bah-rah-ray) Jizo. Legend has it that this saint has a gift for getting people out of tight spots, and the reason people tie a rope around it when asking for its help is a great story.
If you’re curious, you can read about it here, or watch a rakugo performance of the story in English!) To ask for the Shibarare Jizo’s help, start by tossing a hundred yen coin in the box by the ropes and choose one from the rack.
Step up and tie your rope securely around the stone figure…
…then step back behind the offering box, toss another coin, and ask the Shibarare Jizo to grant your wish
When your wish comes true, return to the temple, make another offering to thank the Shibarare Jizo, untie one of the ropes and leave it in this bucket. Looks like he’s been busy lately!
If you’d like to ask the Jizo-san for a different kind of favor, buy one of these adorable ema prayer plaques and write your wish on the back before hanging it on the rack
The grounds of Nanzo-in aren’t extensive, but they’re beautifully landscaped with carefully pruned trees and cheerful animal statues set amid the greenery
The grounds of Nanzo-in aren’t extensive, but they’re beautifully landscaped, with lovely stone water basins…
and carefully pruned trees surrounded by billowing hydrangeas that bloom in June…
along with cheerful animal statues set amid the greenery (like this cow family that gets its share of attention when exam time rolls around and prayers are offered up to the animal representing academic success).
Youn might notice a kindly Kannon shrine around to the right of the temple buildings—it’s dedicated to the spirits of lost children, and these adorable little amulets represent the prayers of the families who still remember them.
It’s easy to spot this temple from the street, through its magnificent gate
Open: Every day
Hours: 9:00 – 16:00
Admission: Free
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And here are the other places I take my friends when they come to town
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 