On March 31st (Sunday), at Matsuo Temple in Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture, there was the Spring Festival. This year, the cherry blossoms are finally about one-third in bloom. Ascending the stone steps, the ascetics blow conch shells. Following them are young chigo (child of festivity) dressed in matching happi coats. After offering prayers in front of the main hall, the fire ritual, goma, begins. Matsuo Temple is said to have been founded during the Hakuhō era, approximately 1350 years ago. It is said to have been established by En no Gyōja. Flourishing from the Nanboku-chō period to the Muromachi period, it is said to have possessed a vast estate of 7000 koku, with 308 temple residences, and a warrior monk force numbering in the thousands, making it a considerably large temple. During the Warring States period, it was destroyed after being defeated by Oda Nobunaga, but was rebuilt by Toyotomi Hideyori. Subsequently, the temple’s influence gradually declined, and during the Meiji period, it was subject to anti-Buddhist policies, leaving only the main hall enshrining the Bato Kannon, making it the only remaining structure among the Saigoku Sanjūsan-sho pilgrimage sites. Within the temple grounds stands quietly the Matsuo Temple Camphor Tree, designated as a natural monument of Osaka Prefecture boasting an age of 700 years. Gazing up at this colossal tree, with a height of 38 meters and a circumference of 10 meters, one cannot help but be struck by the sacred atmosphere and the timeless vitality it embodies.

3月31日(日)大阪府和泉市の松尾寺で、春季大祭がありました。今年は桜もやっと三分咲きです。行者達が法螺を吹きながら石段を登って行きます。その後に揃いのはっぴに身を固めた稚児達が従います。本堂の前でお参りした後護摩行が始まります。松尾寺の開山は白鳳年間と言いますから、今からおよそ1350年ほど昔です。役行者によって開かれたといいます。南北朝から室町時代にかけ最も栄え、口伝では寺領７０００石、寺坊３０８、僧兵は数千人を数えたと言われますから、随分大きな寺であったわけです。戦国時代、織田信長に敗れ諸堂宇は破却されましたが、豊臣秀頼により再建されました。その後、寺勢は次第に衰え、明治時代の廃仏毀釈で西国三十三所では唯一馬頭観音を祀る本堂のみ残りました。敷地内には樹齢700年を誇る府天然記念物に指定されている巨木「松尾寺のクス」が静かに佇んでいます。高さ38m、幹周り10mというこの巨木を見上げれば、神聖な空気と共に時間を超えた生命力に心打たれます。