The Buddhist flag hanging in the main hall of Nishiarai Daishi fluttered noisily

Buddhist flag fluttering at Nishi Arai Daishi

I had vaguely thought that somewhere in Tokyo there was a temple called Higashi Arai Daishi, a counterpart to Nishi Arai Daishi, just as there are Higashi Hongan-ji and Nishi Hongan-ji in Kyoto, but upon further reflection, I have never heard the name Higashi Arai Daishi in my entire life. That is because there is no temple called Higashi Arai Daishi, nor is there a place called Higashi Arai, which is the counterpart of Nishi Arai. The eastern neighbor of Nishi Arai in Adachi-ku, Tokyo, is called Kurihara.

The temple Soji-ji Temple is called Nishi (west) Arai Daishi because there is a well on the west side of the main building that is said to have been formed by water gushing out of the well when Kobo Daishi prayed for blessings. The origin of the word Nishi Arai is not the west side of the place name Arai, but the fact that there is a well with a miraculous power to the west of the main hall. It is no wonder that there is no counterpart to Nishi Arai called Higashi Arai.

It was windy that day. It was so strong that the Buddhist flag hanging from the eaves of the main hall was fluttering horizontally. Even so, no one was attracted by the sound of the Buddhist flags fluttering in the wind. Only I was the only one who stopped and looked up with a stupid look on my face.

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