Kosenji Temple
Main Image Seated Amida Nyorai (Stone Buddhas of Jikicho Cave) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Impression TagsMysteryStillnessDepth
DescriptionCarved into the rear wall of the innermost chamber of Jikicho Cave, an approximately 11 m-deep rock grotto on the hillside east of Kosenji Temple, this seated Amida Nyorai forms the central figure of an Amida triad. A standing Kannon Bosatsu is carved to the right and a standing Seishi Bosatsu to the left. Hitachiota City dates the carvings to the late Heian period, and they were designated a Cultural Property of Ibaraki Prefecture in 1970 as the “Stone Buddhas of Jikicho Cave.” According to tradition, the monk Ryoyo Shogei, second head priest of Jofukuji Temple, took refuge in this cave between 1388 and 1396 to escape fires at Jofukuji and warfare involving the Satake, and wrote the ten-volume Ketsugisho Jikicho here, from which the cave is said to take its name. During Hitachiota City's Shuchu Bakuryo event on October 17, 2026, the cave will be open from 10:00 to 15:30, with the Amida triad illuminated for viewing.
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