Day 14 – Taishakuten Temple
Taishakuten Temple, formally called Kyoei-zan Daikyoji, was founded during the Kan-ei Period（1629） under the auspices of the nineteenth head priest of Hokekyoji Temple in Shimofusa Nakayama, Reverend Zen-nai-in Nitchu. The second head priest of Daikyoji, Rev. Daikyo-in Nichi-ei, is credited for its actual logistical establishment.
For many years, this temple housed a figure of Taishakuten (Indira), until it disappeared for a period during the middle ages (between the later Heian and Muromachi Periods(1175-1573)). The lost main deity was miraculously found when the ninth head priest, Kotei-in Nikkyo, disturbed by the severely dilapidated condition of the main prayer hall, decided to renovate. Coincidentally, this main deity was discovered in the attic of the main hall on a Koshin Day in the spring of the eighth year of the An-ei Period（1779）.
Via Taishakuten.or.jp.
While all of the temples I’d encountered posessed amazing woodworking, none were so express in their design as the Taishakuten Temple. The actual temple that the Miyama family goes to for prayer, it is a lovely, quaint, neighborhood temple that is very accessible.
