Gyoganji Temple

This is a Tendai sect temple located in Takeyamachi, Teramachi-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City. It is called Reiyu-san and is the 19th temple of the Thirty-Three Temples of the Western Provinces. It was founded by Gyoen. Gyoen loved hunting, and after seeing a deer he had shot, he was inspired to enter the Buddhist priesthood. He would always wear deerskin and recite the Thousand-Armed Dharani, so he was called the "Leather Saint," and hence the temple is commonly known as the "Kado" (also called "Kado"). It is said that it was founded in December 1004 (the first year of the Kanko era; one theory is that it was the following year), when Gyoen, inspired by a dream, carved a Thousand-Armed Kannon statue from a large tsukiki tree at Kamo Shrine, and built a temple on Aburanokoji, north of Ichijo, to hold a celebratory ceremony. After several fires, it was moved to its current location in 1708 (the fifth year of the Hoei era).

[Nakayama Kiyota]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

京都市中京区寺町通竹屋町(たけやまち)にある天台宗の寺。霊麀山(れいゆうさん)と号する。西国三十三所第19番札所。開基は行円。狩りを好んだ行円は、射止めた鹿(しか)の姿を見て発心(ほっしん)して仏門に入り、つねに鹿革を身につけて千手陀羅尼(せんじゅだらに)を読誦(どくじゅ)していたので革聖(かわひじり)といわれ、それにちなんで革堂(こうどう)（「かわどう」ともいう）と通称される。草創は1004年（寛弘1。一説に翌年）12月とされ、行円が夢託により賀茂社の大槻樹で千手観音(かんのん)像を刻し、一条の北の油小路に一寺を建立して慶讃供養(きょうさんくよう)をしたのに始まると伝える。幾度かの火災により1708年（宝永5）に現在地に移った。

［中山清田］

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