AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Komyoin Yakushido, affectionately known as "Kitsu no O-Yakushi-san," is a Shingon Daigo-school temple in the quiet rural district of Kitsu, in Niigata's Konan Ward. Centered on a city-designated National Cultural Property—a secret Medicine Buddha statue attributed to the legendary Nara-period monk Gyōki—the temple draws worshippers seeking healing, especially for eye ailments, and pulses with life during its spectacular midsummer fire-walking festival.↗↗
Visitors can explore the grounds year-round free of charge, collect a goshuin temple stamp, join a monthly fire ritual, or try sutra copying. The highlight for many is July 28, when the Kitsu Yakushi Fire Festival transforms the temple into a scene of blazing embers, chanting monks, and barefoot pilgrims crossing the fire.↗↗
A Secret Buddha Saved from War
The heart of Komyoin Yakushido is its principal image: a Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha) seated statue from the late Heian period, standing 111.5 centimeters tall and crafted in the elegant Jōchō style that defined Buddhist sculpture of the era. Local tradition credits the statue to Gyōki, the great Nara-period monk and state prelate who is said to have carved images across Japan while traveling to bring Buddhism to ordinary people.
