Yoryu Kannon Hall

This hall at Hida Kokubunji in Takayama enshrines the Yoryu Kannon, a form of the bodhisattva of compassion holding a willow branch said to both cure and prevent illness. Visitors come to pray for safe childbirth; the wooden blocks in front, shaped like the rook piece in Japanese chess, were placed here hoping for a smooth, uncomplicated delivery. Carvings of paired Mandarin ducks over the doors and birds of paradise on the sides represent monogamy and parenting. Unusually, a Shinto torii stands at the entrance to this Buddhist hall, a physical reminder of the syncretic practice of combining Shinto and Buddhism that was common in Japan before the Meiji era.