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  -弘福寺-

Kofukuji Temple

Seki no Jijibabason Statue

The Seki no Jijibabason stone statue located on the right side of the temple grounds was sculpted by Buddhist priest Fuugai Oshou (Kanei Period) and depicts his mother and father. Fuugai lived as a hermit seeking enlightenment in a cave in the mountains of Soshumanazuru and it is said this stone statue was his means of fulfilling his filial duties to his deceased parents.

Afterwards, Inaba Masanori, founder of the temple on the mountain, would later be moved by Fuugai’s kind feelings and offered to hold a memorial service for Fuugai’s parents at his Edo residence.  However, Inaba Masanori was forced to relocate to a different domain before this could occur and as such his parents were enshrined at Kofukuji temple, the site of the family cemetery.  It is believed that Fuugai’s name has an ability to ward off illnesses. There is also a custom of placing offerings of soybeans and coarse tea in front of the statue in order to pray for one’s complete recovery from illness just as Fuugai did for his ailing parents.

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