Temple Myths and the Popularization of Kannon Pilgrimage in Japan A Case Study of Oya-ji on the Bando Route

The Bando pilgrimage is a major form of Kannon devotionalism in Japan. This paper explores the role of founding tales (engi) in promoting the Bando pilgrimage by examining an example from one of its sites, Oya-ji. Pilgrims were deeply stirred by what they saw at Oya-ji, particularly the mysterious image of the senju Kannon that was the temple’s main devo tional image. The stories collected in the Oya-ji engi concerning the origin of this image and its worship stirred the religious imagination of pilgrims. The engi does so by identifying Oya ’s environs descriptively with the myth-scape of Kannon，s abode on Mount Fudaraku. Second, it offers a dramatic vision of the bodhisattva 公 powerful presence on site by using one type of founding myth of meeting~subjugating the kami through the issue of spiritual lig h t.l hird, it has tales about exemplary meetings of Kannon with pilgrims. These emphasize the spiritual benefits that can accrue through worship. Engi like Oya-ji s and others collected in pilgrimage texts called reijo-ki were vita l fo r the popularization of the Bando and othe