Jakushoji Kannon Hall (Wakamatsu Kannon)

The Kannon Hall of Wakamatsu Kannon

The Jakushoji Kannon Hall (Wakamatsu Kannon) (若松寺観音堂) is the Kannon hall of Jakushoji, popularly called Wakamatsu Kannon, at Yamamoto, Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture, a hip-and-gable hall of the late Muromachi period dated to around 1509, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on July 1, 1963 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Yamagata Prefecture).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as five bays square, single-storey, under a copper hip-and-gable roof with a one-bay canopy; owned by Jakushoji. It is also a component of the Japan Heritage story of the safflower culture supported by Yamadera (Japan Heritage portal).

A Temple of Matchmaking

According to Tendo City, Jakushoji is known as a temple for finding a partner and is the first of the Mogami Thirty-Three Kannon pilgrimage temples. By tradition it was founded by Gyoki in 708 and later moved from the summit to its present site by Jikaku Daishi.

No record dates the hall, but its style and techniques point to the late Muromachi period. Under the patronage of Mogami Yoshiaki, lord of Yamagata Castle, it was extensively repaired in 1611 (Tendo City), and it was fully dismantled and restored from 1966 to 1968 (Yamagata Prefecture).

Why It Is an Important Cultural Property

The Jakushoji Kannon Hall was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1963. Yamagata Prefecture values it as a precious record of Muromachi building techniques. Tendo City finds it intriguing that, compared with the Chudo of Risshakuji, the worship space is larger than the sanctuary, showing how Buddhist halls changed over time.

What to Look For

The Jakushoji Kannon Hall is five bays square with verandas all round. Like the Risshakuji Chudo, its front doors hang without horizontal tie beams, on Zen-style pivot blocks. Lattice doors divide the interior into the front, the worship space and the sanctuary, where an altar holds a shrine cabinet (Tendo City).

The frog-leg strut of the canopy was added in the Edo period, and the shingled roof was replaced with copper shaped like shingles in the 1968 restoration, but the hall still shows the character of the late Muromachi period (Tendo City).

Visiting Wakamatsu Kannon

The Jakushoji Kannon Hall is at 2205-1 Yamamoto, Tendo City. According to the temple, it is about 20 minutes (7 kilometres) by car from Tendo Station. Book in advance for matchmaking prayers. Telephone 023-653-4138. The temple has closing days and winter road closures, so check its notices before visiting (Jakushoji).