Hozen-ji
Moss-cloaked guardian statue drenched in water by generations of hopeful visitors in a lantern-lit alley.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Hozen-ji in Osaka opens with a stone Fudo statue so thickly coated in moss its face has vanished, drenched again and again by visitors following a ritual traced back to one desperate prayer sometime after the second World War. You'll hear how that single act spread into a habit across the surrounding entertainment district, and what the temple's founding in 1637 on a former execution ground has to do with its old nickname. Listen for the story of what this statue endured that nothing else nearby did.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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