Daihiden Toshoji Temple

Daihiden Toshoji is a Soto Zen temple founded in 1932 near the base of Mt. Sanage, next to a historic hall housing a tenth-century Senju Kannon statue. The main hall, which visitors can enter, is where zazen meditation classes are held. Lined up across from it are 33 stone Kannon figures, once arranged along a hillside pilgrimage path. The temple is calm most of the year, but comes alive on Setsubun, usually February 3, when local residents gather for mamemaki, the ritual throwing of dried soybeans to drive away harmful spirits.