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The copper-roofed building was brought here in 1647 from Zojoji {zoh-joe-gee} in Minato-ward, Tokyo. Originally, it was constructed in the 17th century to have memorial services for the wife of Hidetada Tokugawa {he-deh-tah-dah toh-koo-gah-wah} (1579-1632), the Second Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. As Zojoji was a Jodo sect temple, this Butsuden reflects elaborate decorations and is not like those of Zen temples, which are usually simple with no ornamentation. The latticed ceiling here, for example, is decorated with paintings of phoenixes and the interior is lacquered.
Enthroned on a gigantic pedestal in the center of the floor as the main object of worship is a giant sedentary statue of Jizo Bosatsu (Ksitigarbha-bodhisattva in Skt.) measuring as tall as 240 centimeters in sitting height and reaches 496 centimeters if the pedestal is included. For Zen temples, it is rare to enshrine a Jizo Bosatsu statue as the main object of worship. Why Jizo Bosatsu? Before the Temple was erected, this site had been an execution ground for criminals, termed Jigoku-dani {gee-goh-koo-dah-nee} or the Hell's Valley. To console the souls of those criminals who may have been executed in cruel manner or even on false charge, Jizo Bosatsu was most suitable. The original Jizo Bosatsu statue was, however, destroyed by the fire in 1414, and the existing one was fashioned afterward.
To the right-hand corner of the hall, though may not be clearly visible, are 282 iron-cast miniature Jizo Bosatsu made during the Muromachi through the Edo Period (14th to 19th centuries). Surrounded by them is a considerably large one which is called Shinpeiji {shin-pay-gee} Jizo, ranking 9th of the Kamakura Twenty-Four Jizo Pilgrimage. Shinpeiji is the name of an ancient Zen temple that had existed right here before the Temple was constructed.
Another Jizo statuette which ranks 10th of the Kamakura Twenty-Four Jizo Pilgrim is installed in the interior of the main Jizo statue and is called Saita {sigh-tah} Jizo. Saita is the name of a samurai who served Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate. But he was convicted on charge of injury and was sentenced to death by beheading. When the executioner tried to decapitate him with a sword, however, he was unable to carry it out. Saita had put a 5.4-centimeter-tall Jizo statuette in his hair, which prevented the sword from beheading. He was released immediately and the statuette was revered as a guardian deity installing it inside the main Jizo Statue. Today's statuette is said to be a similar size replica.
Unfortunately, inside the hall is too dark to make them out. Enthroned on the altar of the right-hand recess are five wooden statues of guardian deity for the entire Temple called Garanjin {gah-ran-gin}, two of them standing (119.2 centimeters tall) and three others sedentary (128 centimeters tall each). Garanjin statues, installed mainly in Zen temples, are based on Taoism dogma, and are irrelevant to Buddhism. As a guardian deity of temple complex, Garanjin was introduced to Japan from China together with Zen. Here, we see a eclectic blend of religions housing both Buddha-related statues and Taoism ones in the same hall. All Garanjin statues were made in the latter half of the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).
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