Oct 14, 2014 - 1 min read

Taicho-ji Temple: A Jizo Paradise

Say hello to the million small jizo statues here!

By Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

One of the small jizo statues sitting in its final resting place

Cemetery of broken jizo statues beside the bamboo grove which surrounds Taicho-ji Temple

Faceless jizo couple in the jizo cemetery

Rows of small jizo statues with the bigger one in the center at the top

Six jizo statues welcome you at the entrance of Taicho-ji Temple

In a group of small jizo statues there's a much smaller one, which looks like a child's statue

Close-up look at two of six jizo statues at the entrance

This is the first small wooden hut you'll find when you pass through the entrance gate of Taicho-ji Temple

The statue of 'Thinking Amida Nyorai Buddha', which is surrounded by small jizo statues

This is not a jizo, but a statue of tanuki （raccoon dog）standing at the foot of Taicho Daishi's statue!

Another group of small jizo statues under a wooden hut on the temple grounds

Here's another one in a small wooden box-like shelter at the foot of some trees

Here's another one, too...I wonder why there are so many jizo statues in this temple?

Looking at the small wooden shelters of jizo statues in the forest

Taicho-ji Temple in Fukui is the birthplace of the famous Shugendo monk, Taicho, who founded this temple at his birthplace just before he departed for climbing Mount Haku in 717. So, when I visited here, I just expected to see some temple buildings and Taicho-related artifacts. But what I found instead were countless jizo statues that stood in and outside the temple. Just beside the parking lot I found a 'cemetery' of broken jizo statues, which were casually piled up in a field. Then at the temple entrance I met six jizo statues, and another group of jizo statues. Inside the temple grounds there are many groups of them scattered around the vast forest. If you are a fan of jizo statues, this is the place for you to meet many of them!