28 October 2006
The Gotokuji temple in the Setagaya Ward of Tokyo has a cat at the center of its primary myth, and is the place where originate the maneki-neko, the little statues of beckoning cats bringing good fortune to japanese people and merchants.
More photos of Gotokuji and Maneki-neko are available in a separate gallery (August 2007)
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The story goes:
That day six months prior, the sky was clear and sunny. The feudal lord had traveled a long distance with his vassals to a place very near Kotoku Monastery in Setagaya. But dark clouds started to gather and a heavy rain suddenly began to fall. The feudal lord took cover under a large pine tree in front of the temple. While he was standing there, the monk's cat Tama beckoned to him from the monastery with his paw. The rain-drenched lord entered the monastery.
At just that moment, a thunderstorm hit the area. With a loud crack, a large lightening bolt struck the pine tree under which the feudal lord had been standing. The lord's life was saved by the cat. At that time, the lord ostensibly had been out hunting with a falcon, but in actuality he had been inspecting the new lands of Setagaya that had been given to him by the Bakufu.
He called the monk and the cat to his residence to thank them for saving his life. However, the cat slept through the entire discussion besides the monk.
The feudal lord decided to make Kotoku Monastery the family temple of the Ii family, renamed it Gotokuji Temple and built a large new temple building.
This story spread like wildfire among Edo's 808 towns. Since the cat was believed to have brought good luck, Gotokuji Temple had many visitors. The city is thus said to have developed outside of the temple gates.
Setagaya Folktales - Gotokuji Setagaya City
Also in 2006
- Shitamachi
- Une simple question d'équilibre
- Amour (vache)
- 22 July 2006: Skateboarding in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan
- June 18, 2006: Yanaka, Tokyo, Japan
- …And More: » 2006 Archives