S P O T ／ SPOT-334

Jogi Nyorai Saihoji Temple

定義如来 西方寺じょうぎにょらい さいほうじ

Hidden in the mountains west of Sendai, Jogi Nyorai Saihoji begins with a loser's story. After the Taira clan was crushed at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185, a senior Taira retainer named Taira no Sadayoshi is said to have fled into these hills and enshrined the Amida Buddha he had carried as his personal guardian, praying for his fallen comrades. Eight centuries later, that Buddha is still here — kept as a hidden image in the main hall, beloved across Tohoku under the affectionate nickname "Jogi-san," and famous as a place to pray for safe childbirth, marriage, and children. The grounds gather a great main hall, the Sadayoshi Hall honoring the fugitive warrior, and a magnificent five-story pagoda built entirely of Aomori hiba cypress. But ask any local what "Jogi-san" means and they may answer with food, not faith: the gate town is ruled by the sankaku abura-age, an enormous thick triangle of deep-fried tofu sold piping hot by a tofu shop founded in 1890 and said to move some ten thousand pieces a day. Here, an 800-year-old refugee legend, a Pure Land hidden Buddha, and a cult of fried tofu coexist as one living pilgrimage.