Nunobiki-Kannon

Nunobiki Kannon (Shakusonji Temple) is known as the Tendai sect temple of Nunobiki Kannon in Komoro, Nagano Prefecture. It is the birthplace of the proverb “牛に引かれて善光寺参り” whose English equivalent would be something like “Goslings lead the geese to water.” The name Kannon-do means a temple that enshrines the Kannon deity. The the atmosphere is more like a stage or an observation deck where tourists can enjoy cherry blossoms in spring and autumn colors in fall. Shakuson-ji temple, which houses the Nunobiki Kannon, holds strong cultural ties with Zenko-ji Temple, and it is one of the Japan’s important cultural assets characterized by local cliff formations similar to Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto.

Story:
There is a Japanese legend where an old woman with a bad heart did not believe in any god. One day while bleach a cloth under the eaves, the Buddha, who had changed into a cow, appeared and caught the cloth on one of its horns. The angry woman chased after the cow towards Zenkoji Temple. Inside the temple, the cow turned into a golden Kannon (goddess of mercy), The Kannon admonished the old woman for her wrongdoings and persuaded her to correct her ways. The old woman was converted and returned home. On a windy day, the cloth was caught by the wind and carried to the the side of a mountain where it become known as the Cloth Rock of Saku. When the old woman neared the Kannon, she saw the cloth on its head and became a Buddhist nun. The Kannon of Shason-ji is on Numobik-yama, which means Mt. Pulling-the-Cloth.