Getting rid of pains and hardships

Hello !

Today, I will introduce a very famous temple in Kyoto. Shakuzou temple is located at Nishijin district where is famous for nishijin brocade. In this temple, a removing nail Jizo is enshrined. It is called Kuginuki-Jizo in Japanese, which means getting rid of a nail. The high ranked Buddhist priest, Kobo Daishi, established this temple in 819. It is said that he brought a rock from China and inscribed the Jizo Bosatsu Budda on it himself. He enshrined the statue and prayed, "May this budda get rid of all kinds of misfortunes and illnesses from people." This is how this temple got its name: "Kuginuki" means getting rid of pains and hardships. people come to this temple to heal their pain and be released hardship. Not only is there the main hall where the Jizo stutue is enshrined, but also you can pray to get rid of your hardships by walking around the temple.

How to pray
First, you will buy a candle and an incense stick. Please light and offer them in front of the Budda, and pray "May this budda get rid of my pain, or hardships, or illnesses, or misfortune etc" and then you get split bamboos equal to your age. you can find a box full of bamboos at the side of the temple. Your age must be Kazoedoshi. If your birthday is 2018 October 1st and you are 20 years old at 2018 March 1st, your Kazoedoshi age is 22. In Japanese age reckoning, two is added to one's age before his birthday, or one after it. Second, you will walk around the temple clockwise the number of times as your age holding split bamboos. If you are so old that you can not hold all bomboos, you can put them in a kind of paper bag. Every time you make a circuit of the temple, you return a bamboo to a box. you will repeat it until your bamboos are all gone. That's all. it's very simple.

an Episode at Muromachi period
At Muromachi of period, an merchant has suffered from the pain of both hands. He tried so many kinds of medical treatments. However the pain has never gone. He came to the Shakuzou temple which is famous for Kuginukijizo who can get rid of pain. It is said that he prayed for 7 days. At the 7th night, Kuginukijizo appeared in his dream and said "You cursed a person in a former life. You hit a nail to a straw doll to curse him. So, this pain means a penalty that you did in a former life." Kuginukijizo pulled two nails from his both hands and showed him them. When he got up in the morning, his pain was gone. He wondered it and went to the shakuzou temple. He saw two bloody nails in front of Kuginukijizo!! Those nails were the same nails as he had seen in his dream.

Votive tablet called EMA in japanese language
Since then, people who has suffered from many kinds of diseases prayed at this temple. People came to appreciate Kuginukijizo for having got rid of their pain. It is the custom in this temple to dedicate an EMA which is put two nails on it after your pain or hardships is gone. You can trust Kuginukijizo's power to see so many EMAs put on the temple's wall.

I do recommend you going to this wonderful temple when you go to Kyoto.