Ganjojuin -
A Wish Fulfilled

The Izu Peninsula is so famous for its hot springs, that one tends to forget there are other and more valuable things to be found on this mountainous outcropping below Mt. Fuji. One of them is the old town of Nirayama, which is rich in historical associations. Nirayama formed the original basis of the Hojo family, who as regents for the Kamakura shoguns controlled Japan in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They occupied that enviable position thanks to the fact that the shogunate's founder Minamoto no Yoritomo as a young man had been banished to Izu by his family foes, the Taira. In Izu, he fell in love with Masako, the daughter of the Hojo leader, Tokimasa. The couple married against the father's wishes.

Later, Tokimasa must have felt grateful for this act of filial disobedience. When Yoritomo assumed the dignity of shogun in Kamakura, his wife's family rose from its position of small gentry to one of foremost importance in Japan. Father-in-law Tokimasa was given the important task of subduing the northern Fujiwara, a job he fulfilled with such rigorous enthusiasm that nothing remained but charred ruins of the fabulously wealthy city of Hiraizumi in the north. It seems therefore almost cynical that Tokimasa, who during the war in the north destroyed such important temples as Chusonji and Motsuji, should have established a temple himself in his hometown of Nirayama, as a prayer for success in that particular campaign.

Daruma statue in the temple grounds

A Wish-Fulfilling Amida
That temple still stands, or to be more precise, the name and its main statues still exist today. It is appropriately called Ganjojuin, or "Temple for the Fulfillment of All Wishes." The task of wish fulfillment has been delegated to the main image, a large and sturdy Amida statue, which is flanked by a Bishamon Ten - protector of the North, and thus appropriate for a northern campaign - and a Fudo Myo-o triad. These statues are housed in a new temple hall of concrete, as the original temple was destroyed by the wars that over the centuries raged in this area.

Only a twenty-minute walk from Nirayama Station, the temple stands at the bottom of a low, round hill called Moriyama. The once pastoral area has been invaded by commuter's houses. Right in front of the temple gate, several more residences are under construction. However, once removed from the highway that cuts through it, the neighborhood is quiet, and the temple grounds have been laid out tastefully. The concrete hall is functional rather than ugly, and will protect the statues from further ravages in centuries to come.

After receiving a friendly explanation about the temple's history from the woman who has sold the tickets, I am allowed to go behind the altar and inspect the statues at close range. The Amida is indeed massive: the body is round, the flesh full, the expression of the face sitting on a short bull neck speaks of force. It is not an Amida that entices souls to Paradise, but one that is fully part of this world, so that he can even fulfill a wish for success in a military campaign.

The Amida, Bishamon and Fudo Myoo are all works by the famous sculptor Unkei. As happens with famous names, many works tend to be posthumously attached to a name like Unkei, just as countless temple foundings have been spuriously credited to legendary priests as Gyogi, Kukai and Ennin. They would have had to live for many centuries in order to accomplish everything that has been ascribed to their account.

Nevertheless, in the present case the link with Unkei has been proven beyond a doubt. Inside the statues wooden planks have been found, on which the name of the temple's founder, Hojo Tokimasa, and the master sculptor Unkei were written. These planks are now on view in the small museum behind the temple hall, together with a statue of Hojo Tokimasa and a Jizo that is said to represent Masako.

In the grounds, one can further find the grave of Tokimasa (next to the bell tower) as well as an odd assortment of relief sculptures. They are a modern version of the 500 Arhats, the Buddha's disciples one often finds in Zen temples, and seem partly sculpted after real people. A notice invites parishioners to apply for this service.

What is my wish when I face Amida? I have no big designs such as the temple's founder Kiyomasa. My simple wish is that I may visit more temples in Japan and see many beautiful statues.

I trust Amida will listen.