After the death of High Priestess Keikoin Seijun, a monument was built in the memory of the virtue of Fudo Myo-o, a Buddhist deity.

Many of you may never have heard of Keikoin Seijun before, but she was a nun who worked tirelessly to restart the reconstruction of the Ise Jingu Shrine, which had been interrupted for 130 years during the Warring States period of 1467 to 1568.

Seijun would travel around Japan, collecting donations to rebuild ruined temples and shrines. She had a hermitage near Maruyama Senmaida in present-day Kiwa-cho, Kumano, and frequently traveled to Ise to help maintain the Uji Bridge and main shrine of Ise Jingu Shrine, which had fallen into disrepair.

She was a woman of faith who, despite harsh treatment in the days when nuns were not allowed to enter Ise Jingu Shrine, continued to collect funds and finally accomplished the rebuilding of the shrine. The fact that the last “Shikinen Sengu” ritual rebuilding is said to have cost 55 billion yen shows how hard she worked to accomplish this.

Why is the memorial here? Is this where Seijun rested after completing her arduous journey through the Yakiyama-goe? Regardless of the reason, it’s no doubt a fitting place for it to be.
As an aside, the roadside stones actually are deeply related to Seijun.