大仏殿と萩 the Colossal Hall of the Great Buddha

大仏殿と萩

奈良の大仏殿について調べていくうちに驚いたことがある。それは奈良東大寺の大仏殿は山口県の萩と関係があるということだ。

源平合戦で平氏によって東大寺や興福寺が焼失するが、時の老僧重源が東大寺復興の大勧進職として陣頭指揮を執り、大仏殿の木材を周防の国（現・山口県）から取り寄せた。

重源は、周防の佐波郡徳地の山から切り出した巨木（直径１・５メートル）、長さ２７メートル）２８本をはじめとして何百本もの木材を筏に組んで阿武川を日本海まで流した。阿武川は海にそそぐ直前に橋本川と松本川に分かれるが、この二本の川に囲まれている町が萩市の中心地だ。日本海から関門海峡を通って瀬戸内海に入り、瀬戸内海を通って、大阪湾に達し、そこから淀川を遡り、支流の木津川をさらに遡り、奈良の近くの陸地に引き上げられ、一本の丸太が牛１２０頭で東大寺まで運ばれたという。気の遠くなるような話だ。

かように大仏殿と萩は木材によってつながっているのだ。

 the Colossal Hall of the Great Buddha

While I was reading a book about Daibutsu-den (the Colossal Hall of the Great Buddha) in Nara, I was surprised to know that it is connected with Hagi City in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Back in 1181, Todaiji Temple and Kofukuji Temple were burned down during the Genji and Heike Battle. An old Buddhist priest named Chogen directed the re-construction of the temple as daikanjin or the director of the re-construction. He ordered a great number of logs in Suo (present Yamaguchi Prefecture) to be sent to Nara.

   Surprisingly, 28 giant logs (diameter 1.5 meters and height 27 meters) and hundreds of other huge logs chopped in Tokuchi, Sawa-gun in Suo went down the Abu River in the form of rafts for about 60 kilometers. The river splits into two near the sea: Hashimoto River and Matsumoto River. The two rivers now surround the main part of Hagi City. The raft-logs were pulled by boats and went through the Kanmon Strait into the Seto Inland Sea. They were pulled to the Osaka Bay, and from there, each huge log was pulled by four boats up the Yodo River and Kizu River. The logs were dragged onto land near Nara. Then each of the logs was pulled by 120 cows to Nara. Isn’t this amazing? 

     Thus, Daibutsu-den and Hagi are connected.