Wonderful bike & train tour in Fukushima 福島大好きおじさんの自転車・鉄道旅日記 Buddhist priest Tokuitsu and restored Yakushinyorai statue at Enichiji Temple, June 22, 2019. (徳一と慧日寺薬師如来 2019年6月22日)

Buddhist priest Tokuitsu and restored Yakushinyorai statue at Enichiji Temple, June 22, 2019. (徳一と慧日寺薬師如来 2019年6月22日)

（Yakushinyorai at Enichiji Temple, Bandai, June 22, 2019. 慧日寺の薬師如来磐梯町 6/22/2019）
Today I visited Enichiji Temple site and learned about Buddhist priest Tokuitsu, who founded the temple in 807, and Yakushinyorai or Buddha of healing which was the main image of the temple. Yakushinyorai statue was built in the very beginning of the temple foundation but has been burnt or damaged several times since then by fire and civil war. It has been restored every time it suffered a damage and the last fire was in 1872 when most of the body was burnt. Last year in 2018 the statue was restored again as close as possible to the original one at early 800’s. The photo above shows the current restored statue which was designed to look as it was when it was first built.
本日は、磐梯町にある慧日寺跡で、このお寺を807年に開基した徳一とお寺の本尊である薬師如来について学びました。この薬師如来は、創建時からありましたが、その後度重なる火事や戦火で被災し、その度に再建されますが、最後は1872年(明治5年)に焼けました。昨年、800年代初期の創建時に限りなく近い形で再建され、写真のようになっています。

Tokuitsu was a high-ranking Buddhist priest who lived between late 700’s and early 800’s. He learnt Hosso sect of Buddhism at Kofukuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, also known as a world heritage site. Nara, in the western part of Japan, was the political center at that time. But during his young age he started to move eastward aiming to spread Buddhism mainly in Ibaraki and Fukushima Prefectures. Photo above, which was a display at the site, shows a replica statue of Tokuitsu with a spearhead like thing at the bottom left. This thing was called “Sankosho” which was a rare treasure at that time made from cupronickel and was the evidence of highly respected person. Enichiji Temple was the center of Aizu Buddhism but he also established about 90 temples in Fukushima, Ibaraki and surrounding prefectures. Shojoji Temple was the most valuable one with many national treasures and important assets preserved to this date. Sitting statue of Tokuitsu made in 12th century was one of them.
徳一は、700年代中期から800年代初期(奈良時代中期から平安初期)に生きた高僧で、奈良の興福寺(世界遺産)で法相宗を学びました。その後、若いうちに仏教を広めようと東の方に向かい茨城と福島およびその周辺で活動しました。写真は、慧日寺資料館の展示にあったもので、徳一像(レプリカ)と三鈷杵(さんこしょ)が左下に置かれています。白銅製の三鈷杵は、当時の貴重な宝物で高僧の証となります。慧日寺は会津仏教の中心地でしたが、徳一はこの他にも、福島や茨城を中心に90ものお寺を建てています。その中でも、会津の湯川村にある勝常寺は、国宝や重文が多く残っており、極めて重要です。12世紀に作られた徳一座像もその1つです。

Today I attended a class held at the site where a curator of Fukushima Prefectural Museum gave us a lecture on the history of Tokuitsu and the spread of Buddhism in Aizu region. Some of the explanation panels on Tokuitsu and Yakushinyorai Buddha at Enichiji Temple were on display at the site as shown above. Enichiji site is located about 20-minute walk from JR Bandaimachi Station.
本日は、会場となった慧日寺跡で、福島県立博物館の学芸員の方の「徳一と会津の仏教美術」のお話がありました。写真は、会場の説明パネルのいくつかです。慧日寺跡は、JR磐梯町駅から徒歩20分です。

The exact route and locations are shown in the map below. The map can be scaled up and down with a click and scroll.
ルートと場所は、下の地図を参照ください。地図は、クリックとスクロールで、拡大・縮小が可能です。