The Three Headless Buddhas
Some time at the beginning of the Meiji period,
spirits from the river appeared every night at Kita onsen.
They caused lots of mischief and trouble making the owner
very worried.
So the onsen owner prayed every day
at the Onsen Jinja (shrine)
for help in stopping these mischievous spirits.
One evening as the spirits came from the river,
three young men appeared at the onsen.
A fight started between the spirits and the young men
who defeated these spirits.
The onsen owner went to thank the three young men
but
they had disappeared.
Next day he went to the Onsen Jinja to pray
and give thanks for the help
in ridding the onsen of the spirits.
At the shrine he found the three Buddha statues with their heads chopped
off!
It seemed that the Buddhas had sacrificed themselves to help the onsen!
He put their heads back on then gave thanks and prayed to themfor their
great help.
Those three Buddhas
are still here today
you can see them
at the little shrine
just up some stairs
in the entrance lobby.
So please pray and
give thanks to them!!
