Tamagawa Daishi Gyokushin-in Temple
Main Image Stone Buddhist Images of the Shikoku 88 Temples and Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimages (about 300 figures) Category Other
Impression TagsMysteryTense PresenceDepth
DescriptionBeneath the main hall and temple grounds of Tamagawa Daishi Gyokushin-in lies the Underground Henjo Kongo Hall. According to the temple’s official guide, this underground sanctuary symbolically represents the womb of the great hidden Dainichi Nyorai and contains stone images connected with the Shikoku 88-temple and Saigoku 33 Kannon pilgrimages. Completed by Ryukai Osho in 1934, it lies about five meters underground, extends for roughly 100 meters, and contains around 300 stone Buddhist figures in a reinforced-concrete passage. Visitors are not permitted to use lights inside and proceed in silence while reciting “Namu Daishi Henjo Kongo,” creating a distinctive form of pilgrimage. Near Futako-Tamagawa, it is one of Tokyo’s most unusual places to experience a symbolic pilgrimage and tainaimeguri, a passage through the Buddha’s womb.
