Inooka-kou 199, Tsuruoka-shi, Yamagata-ken, 997-0842 JAPAN
　　　Tel/Fax : 0235-22-7084
　　　Website : http://www.plala12.or.jp/inookadera
　　　Email　　: oganoiji@cpost.plala.or.jp

　　☆ Access
　　　By taxi from JR Tsuruoka station --------------10 min.
　　　or By bus, take bus going towards Yutagawa-onsen,
　　　　　get off at Niiyama-guchi stop and walk -------- 5 min.
　　　From Shonai airport by taxi -------------------20 min.
　　　By car from the Tsuruoka interchange ---------- 5 min.

　　☆ Worldly Benefits from various deities such as

　　○ Shouten 聖天 (deity with the head of an elepha:nt body of a human; helps one find a romantic partner)
　　　Mantra: On gyaku gyaku kiriku un hatta

　　○ Seishi Kannon 勢至観音 (deity of longevity and physical health)
　　　 Mantra: On san zan zan saku sowaka

　　○ Koyasu Jizou 子安地蔵 (deity for the protection and education of children)
　　　 Mantra: On ka ka ka bi san maei sowaka

　　☆ Pilgrimage Circuits related with this temple
　　 You can get red seals for these three types of pilgrimages:

　　○ Shonai Sanjuusan Kannon 庄内三十三観音(Pilgrimage of the thirty-three Kannon of the Shonai plain; seal-spot No. 27)

　　 Related poem: The clear water of the Inooka well comes to the temple where I do not get tired again.
　　○ Shonai Hyaku Kannon 庄内百観音 (Pilgrimage of the one-hundred Kannon of the Shonai plain ; seal-spot No. 16)
　　 Related poem: Mossy garden, azaleas among rocks, and gushing water. This is Inooka temple the Buddha's village.

　　○ Dewa Juusan Butsu 出羽十三仏 (Pilgrimage of the thirteen Buddhas of the Dewa region.
　　 The main deity is Seishi Kannon, protector of those who were born in the year of the Horse)
　　 Related poem: In the present world I pray to the buddhas for their protection and I feel secure.They are close and numinous.

　　☆ The Story of Inooka Temple at Inaokasan 稲岡山

　According to legend, this temple was founded in 825 by Prince Motosada 基貞, the third son of Emperor Junna 淳和, who performed ascetic practices on Mount K?ya and was given the Buddhist name of Genraku. As a monk he travelled widely on pilgrimage until he finally discovered the numinous site of Inooka 井岡. The site was enveloped by purple clouds, and he decided to build a temple (called Ogadera 遠賀寺) there to pray for the emperor.
The written records about this temple are extremely scarce, but the Engishiki (927) mentions it (referring to it as Oga shrine), as do the Sandai jitsuroku (901) and other documents of the Daigoji 醍醐寺 Temple in Kyoto. Inooka Temple was probably a sub-temple of Daigoji, and thus it belonged to the Shingon 真言 school of Japanese Buddhism. The temple's statue of J?ichimen Kannon dates back to the mid-Heian period (roughly the late tenth century), and it is therefore thought that this temple was built before that time.
　The few sources about this temple that we do have suggest that in the Kenkyouera (1190-1199) the Inooka Temple held propitiatory rituals on the behalf of the powerful warrior Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1144-1199), and that Lord Muttou Kyouuji 武藤淳氏 (fifteenth century) sought the aid of this temple in securing divine protection for himself. The oldest extant written documents preserved in this temple are two hanging buddhas plaques (kakebotoke) that were donated by Tonobe Shirouzaemon Shigeyoshi 渡野辺四郎左衛門重吉 (a vassal of Lord Mutou) in Chouroku 4 (1460) to the chief monk Nyokai 如海. In the process of rebuilding the Buddha-hall in 1779 the central pillar of the pagoda was excavated from the ground and it was found to shows signs of being from before the medieval period.
　Among the temple treasures there is a statue of Fudou Myououwith an emblem of the Fujiwara 藤原 family, a Kamakura period (1185-1333) statue of Jizou Bosatsu with golden pigments, and a well-preserved statue of Seishi Bosatsu descending from the Pure Land. Seishi Bosatsu flanks the central statue of the Buddha Amida that was damaged during repairs in the Edo period and which is now venerated as the Medicine Buddha Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来. The other Muromachi period art works -for example, the iron statue of Kannon Bosatsu, Nyoirin Kannon 如意輪観音, and a painting of Aizen Myouou愛染明王-are still preserved in this temple.
After the temple was destroyed by a fire during the Sengoku period (1467-1573), Lord Mogami Yoshiaki paid to have the entire complex rebuilt, and in 1612 he donated non-taxable lands with an income of 172 koku of rice per year. The mother of Yoshiaki donated three statues (Amida Nyorai, Jyuuichimen Kannon, and Shou Kannon 聖観音) in an attempt to pacify the spirit of her daughter, who had suffered a violent death. These three statues are still displayed in the temple.
　During the Edo period the value of donations made to this temple was second only to the temples at Mount Haguro 羽黒 and Mount Choukai 鳥海. That being said, the donations during this period were still far lesser in value than those made during the time of Lord MutouKiyouji. The foundations for this temple were laid thanks to the painstaking efforts of the chief monk Gyuuei Shounin 及栄上人. It is said that Gyuuei transformed the land around the temple into an ornamental garden and personally oversaw the transportation of a weeping cherry tree (see the picture on the right) from Kyoto during the Keichou era (1596-1615). Support for Inooka Temple did not change with the passing of political power from the Mogami clan to the Sakai 酒井 clan. Because of its proximity the Sakai's residence, the members of the Sakai clan often came here on pilgrimage and to enjoy the site's natural landscape. The dais (joudan 上段) and the upper-dais (joujoudan 上々段), which were used as seats for important members of the Sakai family when they were visiting, are still preserved in the reception-hall of this temple (kuri shoin 庫裏書院), which was built in 1794. The other buildings in the temple complex were built toward the end of the Edo period, and among them are the Buddha-hall, the Kannon-hall (also called Origin Buddha-hall), the fire-ritual hall (gomadou 護摩堂), the reception-hall, the hall for ancestor veneration, the bell tower, the Benten-hall, the Niougate, and the middle-gate. Inooka Temple had various subordinate temples, including Shaka-in, Fugen-bou, Enkou-bou, Itoku-in, Daigaku-bou, and Jourin-bou. There was also many Shintou buildings inside the precinct of this temple: the deities gate (also called Niougate), the worship-hall, the main-hall, the hall for sacred dances, and the seclusion-hall for priests (naoraiden 直会殿). The subordinate shrines affiliated with Inooka Temple were Hie-jinja, Tenman-guu, Sumiyoshi-jinja, Hachiman-jinja, Kasuga-jinja, Inari-jinja, Koutai-jinja, Housou-jinja, and many shrines built on the hill behind the temple.
　In 1867 the Meiji government issued a law requiring the separation of Shintou and Buddhist deities, and in 1879 the temple was destroyed by fire. The only structures that survived were the fire-ritual hall, the reception-hall, the deities gate, the seclusion-hall, and the stone archway (torii 鳥居). Fortunately almost all the Buddhist statues and ritual implements were stored in the fire-ritual hall, and they thus escaped destruction. Toward the end of the Meiji period AndouShuukei 安藤周慶 repaired the roofs of the treasure-hall and the main-hall. During the Taishou(1912-1925) and Shouwa (1926-1989) periods the founder-hall was rebuilt and the reception-hall's roof was renewed. The temple remained without a chief monk until 1954, when Oosawa Eizen 大沢栄繕, the thirty-second chief monk of the Inooka Temple, arrived and restored the roof of the reception-hall, made a new connecting corridor, repaired the Niougate, and the statues enshrined within this portal. In addition to the Buddhist statuary, the lavishly decorated sliding doors, and the votive wooden tablets painted with pictures of horses (ema 絵馬), the Inooka Temple's cemetery hosts tombs of famous politicians, illustrious educators, and important literati from the Edo period to the present.
Moreover, in the ornamental garden it is possible to admire cherry trees, dogtooth violets, camellias, plums, peaches, crab apples, azaleas, rhododendrons, irises, and, in the autumn, the changing maple leaves. It can thus be enjoyed in all four seasons.

　　☆ History of the Inooka Temple

　825 Genraku Shounin 源楽上人 founds this temple for the purpose of praying for the emperor.
　927 Inooka appears in the Engi shiki, in which it is referred to as Oga shrine (Oga jinja 遠賀神社)
1065 Temple burns down. Statue of the eleven-headed Kannon (Juuichimen Kannon十一面観音).
1190 The Lord Mutou武藤 of Dewa 出羽 makes a donation of land to this temple.
1250 Statue of Seishi Kannon.
1300 The statues of FudouMyouou and Aizen Myyouou date back to this period.
1331 Temple burns down again.
1394 The Mutou clan rebuilds this temple for the protection of their family members.
1460 Donation of two hanging-buddha plaques (kakebotoke 掛仏).
1558 Temple burns down again. Statue of Amida Nyorai.
1589 Gyuuei 及栄 becomes the chief monk of the temple.
1600 Creation of the ornamental garden with its weeping cherry tree.
1612 Lord Mogami Yoshiaki 最上義光 donates non-taxable lands to the temple.
1686 Inooka temple becomes a branch-temple of Chishaku-in in Ky?to.
1796 Living quarters and reception-hall for monks (kuri 庫裏) is built.
1811 Fire-ritual hall (gomadou護摩堂) is built.
1855 The great gate (daimon 大門) is built.
1862 The two gate keepers (Niou 仁王) statues are created.
1867 Law for the separation between Shinto deities and Buddhist deities.
1879 Ancient main-hall and other halls burn down.
1909 Reconstruction of the treasure-hall of the temple.
1935 Reconstruction of the founder-hall.
1992 Reconstruction of the main gate.