Taimen-ishi (The Meeting Stone)
Taimen-ishi (The Meeting Stone) is a historic site located in the town
of Kudoyama, Wakayama Prefecture.
According to the
*Makio-san Yuraiki* (Chronicle of the Origins of Mount Makio), Kobo Daishi
(Kukai) worshipped Benzaiten while living on Mount Makio (in Izumi Province)
during his childhood.
Even after
founding the monastic complex on Mount Koya, he remained deeply devoted to this
deity, making the journey to Mount Makio in Izumi nine times every month.
On one occasion,
when the Kino River had swollen and Kobo Daishi was unable to cross, Benzaiten
appeared upon this stone—known as the "Go-taimen-ishi" (Stone of the
Divine Meeting)—and delivered a revelation:
"Since the
journey to Izumi for worship is an arduous task, it would be fitting to
relocate the deity to this land of Kudoyama."
It is said that he
subsequently enshrined the deity here; the shrine remains today below Kudoyama
Junior High School and is affectionately known as "Myojin-san."
The stone came to
be called Taimen-ishi because it was the spot where he heard this divine
message.
The *Kii Zoku
Fudoki* (Sequel to the Topographical Records of Kii Province) also records:
"Taimen-ishi: There are two stones on the village road; tradition holds
that this is the place where Kobo Daishi met with the deity of Makio-san
Myojin."
Since the Meiji
era, the site has also been described as the place where Kobo Daishi met with
his mother.
A six-minute walk
from Kudoyama Station on the Nankai Koya Line.
