Unzen Onsen Town Religious History Trail: Carving of Daikokuten 雲仙温泉歴史探訪コース：大黒天磨崖仏

Official explanation

If you follow the road over Bessho Dam and along Oshidori Pond, you will arrive at a stone torii gate straddling the footpath into the cedar forest above. Here, the face of Daikokuten, a smiling god of wealth and good fortune, is carved into a massive rock formation.

Daikokuten was originally an Indian god. In the ninth century, Japanese Buddhist monks traveled to China and brought back new religious learning, introducing the worship of Daikokuten to their homeland. By the 1420s, Daikokuten was venerated as part of the group of deities known as the Seven Lucky Gods.

Read the full explanation

A millennium ago, more than a thousand priests lived in this part of Unzen, and Oshidori Pond was a valley full of temples. The priests were adherents to a mixture of spiritual traditions, including the worship of Daikokuten. Even today, individuals, families, and businesses in Unzen come to pray and give offerings to the deity.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.