There are said to be 7,777 stones on the temple ground pavement leading to the main hall. The stones have their own story to tell:
A long time ago, there was a man in old Edo (now Tokyo) who was very successful in business. He had a son who was wildly extravagant and grossly self-indulgent. He would delight in everything from alcohol to women to gambling, and he was always fooling around. Eventually, his father was fed up with his son and his behavior and kicked him out of the house. But his son never changed his ways until one day he ran out of money. With nowhere to go, the son decided to sneak into his father’s home one night for shelter.
His father was awakened by a suspicious noise inside his house. It must be a thief. He jumped out of bed, grabbed a spear, and headed toward the sound he heard as he felt his way through the darkness. He aimed and thrust his spear with great precision, and he was validated with a cry from the intruder he was hunting for. He turned on the light to see it was his son, now lying motionless on the floor.
He immediately regretted his actions and felt sorry for his son’s inevitable fate. He decided to visit Zenkoji to mourn the death of his son.
It was a cold and rainy day when he went and he noticed how fellow visitors struggled to walk through the muddy path. He decided to donate pavement stones in memory of his son.
There’s a large temple gate in front of the temple called Niomon. To the left of the gate is Daihongan, the temple that operates Zenkoji, and to the right of the gate is the historic pilgrim’s lodging. The main hall is straight ahead along the stone pavement.
