Ondokuji Temple

  This temples’ history is very long and was originally located in San-non-para, which is about two kilometers north from where it stands now.   It was during the year 857, when Kobo-Daishi's leading disciple, a Buddhist priest called Kakinomotokino Shinzei, rode a cow and went on a pilgrimage in the eastern countries to do missionary work on Shingon Sect under Daishi's orders.   During his travels, Shinzei visited San-non-para, as he was attracted to the beauty of Nishiokitamas’ basin when he looked down to it from Nagame-yama (the border between Kawanishi town and Iide town), that towers over the south side of Iide.   However, the cow passed away, probably from exhaustion of traveling.  Shinzei cordially buried it and founded Ondokuji-Temple.  He then mourned for the cows’ death and named the surrounding land Hagyu（破牛）.   Later, it is said that the name of Hagyu（萩生) was created when white Japanese bush clovers sprouted from the buried cows’ mound, hence the change in Japanese letters.   Furthermore, in the early years of the Muromachi era, Muneto, the eighth castle owner of the Date Family, defeated Hirofusa who was the lord of Nagai and ruled over the region of Okitama.
  It was then that Kokubun Masanobu, the Dates’ chief vassal, was gifted the land of Hagyu for the great achievements of the fight and set up a castle .
  During the years of Ohnen (1394-1428), Mitsunobu, the Kokubuns castellan the third, established an estate of the temple in his immediate vicinity, secured the castle’s safety and moved the temple from San-non-para to inside the castle walls.  This temple is Ondokuji-Temple that we see today, and the grave of Shinzei is enshrined as well inside the temple grounds.

   In the Ondokuji-Temple, the Gochi-nyorai which was at first handed down from India, and was brought to Japan when Kobo-Daishi returned from To (Ancient China) is enshrined as an invaluable Buddhist statue which is kept inside the Okuro-bako, which is a box made of bamboo used for pilgrimage, and said to have been brought over by Shinzei, as Kobo-Daishi entrusted him with it at the time.   On another note, this Okuro-bako was brought to Muroji-Temple in Nara, and Mantokuji-Temple in Nagoya, and in the past, it was recognized as an exhibition of the Buddhist statue done every 21 years, and so there were impressive Buddhist services.   The reason behind the moving of Ondokuji-Temple by the castellan at that time is to be said that, there was an execution site for the sinners, and the castellan faced suffering and was troubled with the dead spirits.  Therefore, he prayed for departed sinners to the Gochinyorai in Okuro-bako, and calmed the spirits of the dead.
  Later, the execution site became the place of the grave of Shinzei, and is also called Hotokeyama.   The current priest chief is Katagiri Tenzan and is counted as the 61st, but out of all the Buddhist priests in the past of this temple, the following two people are famous. •    The 17th Dohchi Founded the Dainichiji-Temple in Oisawa, and founded the worship road of Yudonosan that stretches between Kurokamo (Shirataka Ayukai) and Oisawa. •    The 39th Kyozan Practiced religious austerities at the main temple of Shingoji-Temple(Kyoto), and brought about Ikenobo to this area by learning the Japanese art of flower arrangement at Kyoto Rokkakudo.  There are many ancient archives at the Karoku-monjo (in possession of the town).  Art of Japanese flower arrangement pen name: Chiryudo Kakushi.

Sekigen-Monju-do Hall and Mabiki-zu

 Within the grounds of Ondokuji-Temple, there is the Sekigen-Monju-do Hall that was constructed in 1706.   The origin of the principal deity of this temple is a story of a stone.  When Matsuda Yojiemon, who lived in the village of Nishine (Nagai-City), was picking out rocks from the Nogawa River, he found a stone that was giving off light and had a figure of Buddha.  He brought it home and put it on display, but several disasters followed, and so when he consulted a temple nearby, they advised him to have it enshrined at a temple in the southern direction, and so this was how it stayed in this part of land.  
  Inside the temple, there are a few Ema;wooden plates that people write their prayers or wishes on, and Mabiki-zu is one of them.  Currently, the Ema is not in good condition, hence it is preserved at the main temple.  The word of Mabiki comes from the action of planting seeds, then weeding the unnecessary sprouts, and growing high quality vegetables, but it is an Ema that is giving a warning about the inappropriateness of treating humans the same way as vegetables. 
  The creator of this Ema is Hanabusa Fuwaku born in Miyauchi and has left plenty of such paintings at the temple. The paintings became known to the world, as they were broadcasted by mass media such as television and newspapers, and even had special exhibitions at art museums such as those in Nagano and Sendai.  
  The Ema was designated as the town's Tangible Cultural Property (Ema) in the year 1985.  Also, there is Hariko-zu (needle work art) inside the temple.  With a teacher, Ms. Umetsu Cho, in the middle, her pupils surround her and it seems that the wish of “landing an occupation and marrying into a good man's family” is entrusted in this artwork.