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Konjiki-do (Golden Hall)Chuson-ji Temple
The central altar is dedicated to Amida and flanked by Kannon and Seishi. On each side, three Jizos are arranged front-to-back, while two Heavenly Kings - Zochoten and Jikokuten - guard the altar. The same arrangement is repeated on the left and right altars. |
| The Chuson-ji scheme was based upon Pure Land doctrine, which aimed to grant a blessed afterlife to all believers; and especially in this case, to the Fujiwara rulers buried inside the altars (see previous page). At Chuson-ji, this doctrine was taken quite literally: in 1950, the casket containing Yasuhira's head was found to contain some seeds of the lotus, the very plant upon whose flowers the believers expected to resurrect in the Western Paradise. In 1998, one of those 800-year-old seeds was successfully sprouted, bloomed, and bred into a new variety, the Chuson-ji Lotus. |
Photo: Egyptian Museum | The same idea is found in Ancient Egypt; here is a famous sculpture, from the Egyptian Museum, of the head of King Tutankhamun, who is resurrecting (as Nefertem, personifying the Dawn) upon a lotus. |
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