Chugenji Temple（Meyami Jizo）

Chugenji Temple, which belongs to the Jodo sect of Buddhism, is commonly called Meyami Jizo. This temple originated in 1022, when the Buddhist monk-sculptor Jocho worshipped a guardian deity in the northeast of the Shijobashi Bridge. There is a legend behind the naming of Chugenji Temple and Meyami Jizo. In 1228, the Kamo River was overflowing because of incessant heavy rains. It is said that Nakahara Tamekane of Seta, who was the official in charge of controlling the river, saw that this guardian deity rescue drowning people. To express his gratitude, he therefore enshrined a seated statue of Jizo close to the river and named it Ameyami Jizo or Rain Stopping Jizo. The temple’s name Chugenji (仲源寺) is based on Tamakane’s family name Nakahara in Chinese characters (中原) added with character elements meaning humans and water. Later, the word “Ameyami” turned to “Meyami,” from an anecdote that the guardian deity saved the pain of a religious old couple by transferring their eye disease to the guardian deity’s right eye. That is why people began to call this temple Meyami Jizo and believe in its effects in healing eye diseases. The temple deifies an image of Yamagoe Amida (Descent of Amitabha over the Mountain), which is said to have been made in the Muromachi period, by the side of the guardian deity in the main hall. The Kannondo Hall of the temple owns a great wooden statue of Thousand-armed Kannon (an important cultural property), which is said to have been made late in the Heian period (794-1192) by the Buddhist monk-sculptor Kasuga.
Kyoto City