As you head up Kabutoyama Daishi-michi from Koyoen, just a little past the one deity found along “Kabutoyama Daishi-michi” that we wrote about recently, we found this “signpost.”
Wait, there’s a waterfall? And it says “the finest waterfall among the sixteen on Omote Rokko,” and that “Kobo Daishi trained here” ＼(◎o◎)／！
We had no choice but to go check it out! I thought I knew the Forest Park pretty well, but I had no idea there was a waterfall here… (・_・;)
You enter the mountain by passing through a spot that makes you wonder, “Isn’t this someone’s garden?”
Fresh greenery, blue skies… perfect waterfall weather! !(^^)!
Then we came out to another place that looked like the front of a private house, and saw a torii gate farther in!
After passing through the torii gate, there were lots of deities enshrined there…
And lots more deities in front of the waterfall too…
Beyond the waterfall, Fudo Myo-o is carved into the stone.
When you look up at the waterfall… Wait, is it coming out of a pipe???
At the base of the waterfall… Wait, a bucket??? Are you supposed to wear this over your head??
So, it kind of feels like being struck by the waterfall… a pretend waterfall training session.
By the way, I got the numbers wrong in the article about skipping bridges over the Mukogawa River, so I’ve reflected on that! Since the photo was taken from below, the person says they look about twice as large as usual ^^;
Above the waterfall, there was an unbelievably huge rock, bigger than almost anything I’d seen before,
and there were deities enshrined inside it too!
Following the pipe, it runs alongside the huge rock,
and there was the water source!
The forest around the water source was beautiful (*^^)v
On the map, the waterfall is roughly around here↓
Use the signpost on Daishi-michi as your landmark and head into the mountain. You’ll be passing in front of private homes, so please be sure to mind your manners.
The mystery of the bucket has been solved!
We received information on Twitter from “Kusou no Taki former resident @ waterfall keeper”!
That’s what they told us. The mystery of the bucket has been safely solved! Thank you for the information!
Finally
This waterfall may look somewhat dried up now, but it’s said to be the waterfall where Kobo Daishi trained for 33 days while carving the seated Nyoirin Kannon statue at Kanno-ji Temple!
Incidentally, this seated Nyoirin Kannon statue is a National Important Cultural Property, a masterpiece of Heian-period art that can only be viewed once a year, on May 18!
I really should have taken the waterfall training more seriously… Next time, I’ll have Sensei do the real thing ^^;
