Yasui Konpiragu Shrine (Enkiri-Enmusubi-Ishi,location,history)

Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, Enkiri-Enmusubi-Ishi

The information about Yasui Konpiragu Shrine is presented here. Enkiri-Enmusubi-Ishi (Monument) was installed in 1978. Enkiri-Enmusubi-Ishi originates from the enshrined deity, the 75th Emperor Sutoku’s prayer for the severance of all bad relationships that prevent men and women from being married and so on. Enkiri-Enmusubi-Ishi is a stone in the shape of an ema (votive tablet), about 1.5 meters high and 3 meters wide, with a hole about 50 centimeters in the center. Enkiri-Enmusubi-Ishi has a crack in the center, and it is said that the power of the gods flows through the crack and pours into the hole. Enkiri-Enmusubi-Ishi has a lot of katashiro cards with wishes written on them, so you can barely see anything but the hole.

【Yasui Konpiragu Shrine Location Map & Directions】

Address: 70 Benten-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Access (How to get there): Higashiyama Yasui bus stop bus stop (about 2 minutes on foot), Keihan Gion-Shijo Station (about 10 minutes on foot), Hankyu Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station (about 15 minutes on foot)

【Opening Hours & Closed (confirmation required)】

Opening Hours: 24 hours
Closed: open year round

【Entrance Fees & Tickets (confirmation required)】

Individual: Free

【Yasui Konpiragu Shrine History】

Yasui Konpiragu Shrine (安井金比羅宮) is said to have originated in the late Asuka period (592-710) during the reign of the 38th Emperor Tenji (668-671), when Fujiwara no Kamatari (Nakatomi no Kamatari) built a Butsudo (hall) and planted purple wisteria, and named it Fuji-dera Temple to pray for the prosperity of the Fujiwara clan and the long life of their descendants. Incidentally, Fujiwara no Kamatari, the founder of the Fujiwara clan, contributed to the Taika-no-Kaishin, which together with the 38th Emperor Tenji and others destroyed the Soga clan and changed the government from a noble-centered policy to an emperor-centered policy, and later received the family name “Fujiwara”. In the late Heian period (794-1185), the 75th Emperor Sutoku was fond of wisteria and often visited Yasui Konpiragu Shrine. In 1146, Emperor Sutoku built do (hall) and to (pagoda) and sent his favorite wife, Awa no Naishi, to live at Yasui Konpiragu Shrine. In 1156, Emperor Sutoku was defeated in the Hogen-no-ran (Rebellion) and exiled to Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture), where he died in 1164. Awa no Naishi enshrined his own handwritten portrait, which was given to him by the Emperor Sutoku, in Kannondo. It is said that Awa no Naishi became a nun, built a tsuka (mound), buried her hair, and devoted herself to Buddhist practice day and night. In 1177, when Daen-hoshi visited Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, the spirit of Emperor Sutoku appeared to him and was reported to the 77th Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who ordered the construction of Komyo-in Kansho-ji Temple. The tsuka (mound) built by Awa no Naishi was transformed into Mieido (the mausoleum of Emperor Sutoku). It is said that Rengeko-in Temple was founded in 1200 by Inpumonin Ryoshi Naishinou, the daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa, at the Yasui Gosho (Palace). In the middle of the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Doen Hoshinno, the son of the 83rd Emperor Tsuchimikado, entered Rengeko-in Temple and the temple became known as Yasui Monzeki. Yasui Konpiragu Shrine was devastated by the Onin War (1467-1477) in the middle of the Muromachi period (1336-1573). In 1695, Rengeko-in Temple (Yasui Monzeki), which had been built in Uzumasa Yasui (Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City), was moved to this site and enshrined Omononushi-no-kami of Kotohiragu Shrine in Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture) and Minamoto no Yorimasa as its protector, along with Emperor Sutoku. Yasui Konpira Shrine became known as “Yasui-no-Konpirasan”. After the Meiji Restoration, due to the Shinto-Buddhism separation order and Haibutsu Kishaku, Rengeko-in Temple (Yasui Monzeki) was abandoned and renamed Yasui Shrine, which was renamed Yasui Kompira-gu Shrine after World War II. In 1871, the Mieido of Rengeko-in Temple (Yasui Monzeki) was moved to Daikaku-ji Temple and named Yasuido. Incidentally, Daikaku-ji Temple has been administered by Rengeko-in Temple (Yasui Monzeki) since 1534.

The 75th Emperor Sutoku was born in 1119 as the 1st prince of the 74th Emperor Toba. Emperor Sutoku became Crown Prince in 1123 and on the same day his father abdicated and Emperor Sutoku ascended the throne at the age of 3. When his great-grandfather, the 72nd Emperor Shirakawa, died, his father began the insei (monastic government). His father favored Fujiwara no Tokushi (Bifukumonin) and forced Emperor Sutoku to abdicate in 1141 and the prince of his father and Fujiwara no Tokushi, Narihito Shinno, ascended the throne as the 76th Emperor Konoe, and Emperor Sutoku devoted himself to waka poetry. In 1155, Emperor Konoe died and hopes were pinned on the accession of Shigehito Shinno, the prince of Emperor Sutoku, but this did not happen. After the death of his father in 1156, Emperor Sutoku joined forces with Fujiwara no Yorinaga and others to start the Hogen-no-ran (Rebellion), but was defeated by his own brother, the 77th Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and his father-in-law, Fujiwara no Tadamichi, and was exiled to Sanuki Province (Kagawa Prefecture). This was the first time in about 400 years, since the 47th Emperor Junnin, that a former emperor was exiled. After his exile, Emperor Sutoku became deeply devoted to Buddhism, praying for rebirth in paradise, and devoted himself to making manuscripts of the five Mahayana sutras, and presented the manuscript to the imperial court. However, it is said that the 77th Emperor Go-Shirakawa suspected that it contained a curse, so when he sent it back, it took on the appearance of a yasha and later became a tengu. The 75th Emperor Sutoku died in 1164.
*reference・・・Yasui Konpiragu Shrine website

【Yasui Konpiragu Shrine Highlights (May be undisclosed)】

★Honden (Main Shrine, 本殿) enshrines the 75th Emperor Sutoku, Omononushi-no-kami and Minamoto no Yorimasa. Honden is believed to be a place of prayer for good marriages, prosperous business, money, good luck, and traffic safety.
★Kushi-duka (Kushi Mound, 久志塚) was built in 1961 as a memorial to old combs. Kushi-duka commemorates combs that enhance the beauty of women’s hair. It is said that Kushi-duka brings good luck for beautiful hair, beauty, and a beautiful face.

【Events (confirmation required)】

★Shunki Kompira-taisai (春季金比羅大祭) is held every year on May 10th. Shunki Kompira-taisai is divided into Shunki-taisai and Hitaki-shinji. In Hitaki-shinji, gomagi (wooden sticks) with the wishes from the shrine parishioners and others are burned on a gomadan to pray for the safety of the family and good health.
★Kushi Matsuri (櫛まつり) is held every year on the 4th Monday of September. On Kushi Matsuri, Jidai fuzoku-gyoretsu (procession) passes through Yasui Konpiragu Shrine and the Gion area. Jidai fuzoku-gyoretsu are traditional hairstyles and costumes from ancient to modern times (Kofun period (mid 3rd century – 7th century), Nara period (710-794), Heian period (794-1185), Kamakura period (1185-1333), Muromachi period (1336-1573), Azuchi Momoyama period (1573-1603), Edo period (1603-1868), Meiji period (1868-1912), Taisho period (191-1926), modern maiko, etc.
★Shuki Kompira-taisai (秋季金比羅大祭) is held every year from October 1st to Sports Day. During Shuki Kompira-taisai, the spirit of the gods enshrined in Honden is transferred to horen (portable shine) and placed in Haiden in front of Honden, making it the only opportunity in a year to get close to the divine spirits and receive divine virtues. During the togyo (procession), horen (portable sharine), hanaguruma (flower carriage), a children’s mikoshi (portable sharine), and others are paraded through the shrine parishioners’ district.

【Flower Calendar (cherry blossoms, etc )】

★The best time to see cherry blossoms (桜) is around early April. Somei Yoshino and Shidare-zakura are planted, and it is said that the view of the cherry blossoms, the Enmikiri Enmikushi monument, the worship hall, the Torii gate, the lanterns, the ema (votive tablet), and the approach to the shrine is beautiful.
(The best time to see the plants depends on the climate of the year.)

【Telephone (Please refrain from making phone calls.)】

Tel: +81-75-561-5127

【Recommended Walking Route】

The recommended walking route from Yasui Konpiragu Shrine is via Kennin-ji Temple to Gion. The area surrounding the route is a city historical landscape preservation scenic area, so you can enjoy sightseeing and traveling in Kyoto just by walking around the area. You may also want to cross Shijo-dori to the north, where you will find Tatsumi-bashi (bridge) over the Shira-kawa River and Tatsumi Daimeishin (Gion-no-Oinari-san).

【Remarks(access, parking, disclaimer, etc)】
If you plan to visit Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, be sure to check the latest information.

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