Tamagawa-daishi Temple 玉眞院（玉川大師）

 You should play this music on stereo headphones on your way to and from this temple: 

Tamagawa-daishi Temple

玉眞院（玉川大師）

Sacred Underground Tensho Kongoden

8 minute walk from  Futako - Tamagawa Station.   Just follow Google Maps and it’ll be easy to find.    Once you get there, you’ll see a sign that says hats and cameras are forbidden.   

You’ll also need to remove your shoes before entering the main hall.    Tamagawa - daishi Temple is one  of the oldest and most venerated  temples I have ever seen, and I have been to many.   There are 8 seated Buddhas along the back of the alter and  you should pray to each of them, making sure your thumb knuckle touches your forehead  when you pray.  A prayer typically means introducing yourself in Japanese to each God.   Not material prayers.

This is an old and blessed temple of the Shingon Sect of Buddhist.   There is a beautiful orb of energy here that I can’t describe.    Thick ferns and trees with ancient Buddhas tucked behind them and so green back behind the temple.   This temple is extremely famous for having an underground sacred Buddha hall with over 88 Buddhas, and it is called the Tensho Kongoden.     You enter into the dark and merge into the light.   A deep hall with narrow passageways.   You literally descend into pitch blackness.   If you are  a claustrophobic do not go down there.    In the pitch blackness you will come across various patches of soft lighting showcasing old Buddha statues.   Then there is a very narrow, dark, and dank passage that is pitch black and you cannot see anything.    You feel your way through by guiding yourself along the cold concrete wall.    A tiny sparsely lit room appears just ahead of you.

According to your age, you touch the head of each Buddha gently until you reach the Buddha with your age.   Stay there and pray to it.    The experience down there in the darkness is surreal, especially if you love historical relics and ancient Buddhist culture.   The entire design and inspiration for this temple was taken from Shikoku's 88 pilgrimages.