Sangai no Taki Waterfall
During Asuka period (593-710) under Emperor Tenmu, the ascetic En no Gyoja Ozunu is said to have built a temple here and named it Kissho-ji.
One day, as the ascetic was training in the mountains, he followed a mountain stream to an endless flowing waterfall. Believing this area to be a sacred training site where no one had ever set foot, he sat on a rock and chanted sutras for several days. Then, at the bottom of the pool in front of him, he saw a large dragon guarding a shining golden Buddhist statue.
The ascetic dived into the pool and carefully wrapping the statue in his robe, brought it home with him. The gleaming Buddha was the golden Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha.
En no Gyoja reported this incident to the Imperial Court, and the Emperor issued orders to build a sacred site to protect the nation. En no Gyoja then carved a statue of Yakushi Nyorai himself, placed the golden Yakushi Nyorai he had found in the waterfall inside it, and placed it in a hall.
Later, by order of the Imperial Court, the Kissho-ji was re-named Takisan-ji Temple, and the waterfall basin was called the Sangai no Taki, Waterfall of the Three Realms. The Three Realms are the worlds in which we cannot cast off our earthly desires, cannot be freed from worries and doubts, and suffer while we are reborn and die. The ascetic trained with all his might to break away from these doubts and sufferings, and as a result, he came to protect and worship Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha.
However, from the Meiji period (1868-1912), granite was mined here, and a prefectural road and the Tokiwa Junior High School were constructed, changing the scenery dramatically. Today, only the place name taki, derived from the waterfall, remains.
Okazaki City, Taki-cho
Okazaki Castle Outer Moat Enclosure >
