The road leading up to the shrine winds up the side of a hill, then turns off at a big statue of Miyamoto Musashi. Just pop this address in your preferred map app and follow the directions.ĥ89 Matsuomachi Hirayama, Nishi Ward, Kumamoto City The easiest way to get to Reigando Cave is by car, so if you have an international or Japanese license and either have your own car or a rental, you’ll have the easiest time getting here. ![]() Evidence shows that these trees didn’t exist when Musashi was here, and hopefully they can be cut down soon to restore the pleasing view the cave once offered.Īnd now that you’ve learned all about the cave, let’s find out how to get here! How to Get to Reigando Cave By Car If you look towards the ceiling, far above and slightly to the right of the shrine, you can maybe make out a faint carving of the three characters that make up the name Reigando: 霊巌洞 (the characters are written right to left).Īs of 2021, there are big trees planted in front of the cave and blocking the view of the Ariake Sea. The shrine houses a Kannon statue that supposedly washed ashore centuries ago. Feel free to climb up and close your eyes and imagine what it was like 400 hundred years ago when Musashi was here. ![]() This stone is supposedly where Miyamoto Musashi meditated while living in this cave. Be careful as the steps up are very steep.Īn enormous stone sticks up through the floorboards in the middle of the cave, and there is a small shrine at the rear. Past the statues, at the end of the path, lies Reigando Cave. Many of the statues are headless this happened in the late 1800s as part of an anti-Buddhist movement that destroyed Buddhist statues, temples, and other religious items related to Buddhism. Each statue was carved in different clothes and with different facial expressions. These are the Gohyakurakan (meaning “five-hundred disciples of Buddha”) and they were carved in the 1800s over a span of 24 years by a local merchant. Continue down the pathway and you’ll discover hundreds of small seated statues covering the hillside. One of these is supposedly the actual wooden sword used by Miyamoto Musashi in a famous duel on Ganryujima Island. Immediately after entering the temple, a few items related to Miyamoto Musashi are on display in a small building to the left. Unganzenji itself is a very old Zen Buddhist temple founded in the 1300s by a priest named Toryo Eiyo.Īdmission to the temple costs ¥300 yen for adults. The cave is located on the grounds of Unganzenji Temple, and visitors need to enter through the temple to visit Reigando. The cave has been a site of worship for centuries. Reigando Cave is a shallow, natural cave in a mountainside on the western side of Mt. It’s a long ride.Ībout Reigando Cave, Unganzenji Temple, and the Gohyakurakanįirst, let’s talk a little bit about the history and surroundings of Reigando Cave.
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