Tenyo 1st Year Nyohokyosho Monument

Tenyō Gannen Nyohōkyōsho Monument: A Silent Witness to Heian-Era Devotion at Yamadera

High on a cliff at Yamadera Risshaku-ji Temple in Yamagata, where stone steps wind through ancient cedars and haiku poet Matsuo Bashō once found inspiration, stands evidence of a sacred act performed nearly nine centuries ago. The Tenyō Gannen Nyohōkyōsho Monument (天養元年如法経所碑) is a modest stone stele of just over one metre in height, yet it carries an inscription that transports us directly to the Heian period. In the summer of 1144, a monk named Nyūa and his companions copied the Lotus Sutra by hand and buried it beside a sacred grotto on this very mountain. The stone that commemorates their act of faith now resides in the temple's Treasure Hall, where visitors can stand before one of the most significant archaeological artefacts in the Tōhoku region.

Historical Background

To understand this monument, one must first understand the spiritual tradition that gave rise to it. Yamadera, formally known as Hōjusan Risshaku-ji, was founded in the year 860 by the great Tendai monk Jikaku Daishi Ennin (794–864) under the imperial patronage of Emperor Seiwa. As the third head priest of the Tendai school and a disciple of Saichō, Ennin had travelled to Tang China for nine years of study and returned to expand the Tendai doctrine across Japan. Yamadera became one of the most important religious centres he established in the northern provinces, serving as a branch of the Enryaku-ji head temple on Mount Hiei.

The monument's inscription commemorates a practice that Ennin himself had introduced at Mount Hiei's Yokawa district: the Nyohōshakyō, or "sutra copying performed according to the proper rites." In this demanding spiritual exercise, practitioners would grind ink from stone, fashion brushes from reeds, and bow three times for every single character they wrote. The completed Lotus Sutra was then enshrined in a hall called the Nyohō-dō, sealed away as an eternal offering. On the 18th day of the 8th month of Tenyō 1 (1144), the monk Nyūa and his associates performed this very rite at Yamadera, placing their hand-copied Lotus Sutra in one set of eight scrolls near a sacred grotto associated with the founder. The stone stele was erected to record the deed for eternity.

Over the centuries, the monument eventually fell from its original position atop the cliff known as Hyakujōgan and suffered some breakage. It was recovered and preserved, and in August 1915 it received national recognition as an Important Cultural Property of Japan, classified under the archaeological materials category.

Why It Is Designated an Important Cultural Property

The stele's significance lies in what it physically embodies rather than in mere artistic beauty. It is one of the earliest surviving stone monuments in the Tōhoku region that can be securely dated to the Heian period, and its inscription provides an irreplaceable window into the religious life of twelfth-century Japan.

The stone tells historians that by 1144, Yamadera had already become established as a site associated with the legendary figure of Jikaku Daishi. The temple's famed Nyūjō-kutsu (Entering-Meditation Cave) is traditionally said to hold Ennin's remains, and although historically his final repose was actually on Mount Hiei, the monument's inscription—which speaks of entrusting the Lotus Sutra to the protection of the great master—shows that this tradition of Ennin's presence in Yamagata was already firmly in place by the mid-Heian era. For scholars studying the formation of medieval Japanese Buddhism and the spread of sutra-burial practices, this stone offers evidence that cannot be found anywhere else.

Carved in a precisely laid-out format with bordered lines and nine columns of kaisho-style characters, the stele is also a valuable specimen of Heian-period epigraphy and stonework. Before the reorganisation of Japan's cultural property system in 1950, it was in fact registered as a former National Treasure, underlining the esteem in which it has long been held.

Highlights and Features

Visitor Information

Yamadera Risshaku-ji is remarkably accessible for a mountain temple. From JR Yamadera Station on the Senzan Line, the stone steps of the approach begin just a five-to-ten-minute walk away. Travellers arriving via the Yamagata Shinkansen can transfer at Yamagata Station, and those coming from Sendai can reach Yamadera directly along the same line. By car, the Yamagata-Kita Interchange of the Yamagata Expressway is the closest exit, with clear signage leading to the temple.

The Treasure Hall, where the Tenyō Gannen Nyohōkyōsho Monument is displayed, is generally open between April and November; it is closed during the deep winter months from December through March when heavy snowfall affects the temple grounds. Opening hours are typically 9:00 to 17:00, though these can vary seasonally. An additional admission fee of a few hundred yen is charged for the Treasure Hall on top of the main mountain admission. Visitors who wish to combine the hall visit with a full ascent of the 1,015 stone steps to the Okunoin inner sanctuary should allow at least two to three hours for a leisurely experience.

Ordinary clothing and sturdy shoes are adequate for the climb. Because the cliffs and passages along the trail can be slippery after rain, the weather should be checked before a visit.

Surrounding Attractions

The small town that greets travellers at the foot of Yamadera is a destination in itself. The approach street is lined with restaurants serving local specialities such as Yamadera Chikara Konnyaku—a warming skewer of konjac jelly seasoned with soy sauce—and handmade buckwheat noodles. The Bashō Memorial Museum (Yamadera Bashō Kinenkan), a short walk from the station, commemorates the poet's visit to Yamadera in 1689 and displays scrolls and artefacts related to his journey recorded in Oku no Hosomichi.

Further afield, the region offers many attractions within easy reach. Yamagata City itself, about thirty minutes by train, is known for its Kajō Park (the site of the former Yamagata Castle) and for its summer Hanagasa Festival. The onsen town of Tendō, famous for its shōgi (Japanese chess) culture, lies on the same rail line, and the dramatic Ginzan Onsen—often cited as an inspiration for scenes in animated films—can be reached in roughly two hours. For those interested in the broader cultural heritage designated as part of the Japan Heritage story of "Yamadera and the Safflower Culture It Nurtured," the safflower fields and merchant towns of the Mogami River basin provide a complementary day-trip.