Shining Temple of Bishamon

The Shining Temple of Bishamon was a temple to Bishamon, the Wide Hearing, in the town of Aru in Wa. It was the heart of the faith for the common people and a popular destination of pilgrims from across the country.

Location
The Shining Temple stood atop a great rocky knoll several hundred feet high, dominating the town of Aru below it to the south. The hill was covered by trees except in the vicinity of the temple. Scattered around the hill were several smaller shrines, such as the Shrine of the West Wind, which was dedicated to Komoku, the Wide Gazing. West of the stair was a rocky shoulder with a good view of the town; this place was used for social gatherings and poetry readings, such as by the daimyo and local dignitaries.

Structure
Entrance to the temple began at the Temple Gate, which was actually part of the northern wall of Aru and was accessed via the Pilgrim District. Flanking the gate were two massive lion statues carved of ebony with eyes of gold and teeth of crystal (which could be mistaken for diamond). According to a legend, if anyone attempted to desecrate the temple, the lions would come alive to attack them.

Beyond the gate was a broad stairway of fine white marble, flanked by rows of wooden pillars, dyed red and topped by ivory spires. Pilgrims kept the staircase meticulously clear, while others deposited flower petals and blossoms or prayers written on scraps of parchment on the steps. A total of 3000 steps climbed the hill up to the main temple building. These were called, obviously, the Three Thousand Steps.

In front of the temple stood a soaring apple tree that was sacred to Bishamon. The fruit were said to bestow immortality on the deserving, and death to the wicked, but only Bishamon could pick them. Hanging from a branch of the tree was a brass bell that was tolled every hour in homage to Bishamon, the Wide Hearing. This also served as a way to mark the passing of time for the townsfolk. It had a familiar clear chime.

Interior
Within the temple sat cross-legged a colossal marble idol of Bishamon covered in gold. Before it were long rows of small brass statues of the most important priests of the faith of the previous ten thousand years, numbering 3,333 in all. The strange statues depicted them with multiple heads and dozens of arms, to symbolize their good deeds. On the wall behind the statue was a mural depicting the sun and covering the whole surface. Wooden screens surrounded the statue.

Pilgrimage
The Shining Temple of Bishamon was the undoubted center of the faith for many Wanese, especially commoners, peasants, and others of the lower classes (nobles and upper classes preferred the Great Temple of Bishamon in Kurahito). Moreover, travel within the country was restricted, so pilgrimage also offered the chance for tourism. Thus, pilgrims from across the country made the perilous journey over the islands and through the mountains to Aru to worship and were rewarded with the amazing sight of the Shining Temple. They came in summer, when it was easier to travel the passes. Tens of thousands of pilgrims arrived each summer by the late 1700s on the Wa Calendar. Thus it was vital to Aru, and indeed the only reason the town had any importance, while ensuring the safety of pilgrims and the smooth performance of the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps was an essential duty for the daimyos of Aru Province.

Ceremonies
A complete ceremony at the temple included believers making an individual prayer of thanks to each and every one of the 3,333 priest statues in the Shining Temple. True faithful were required to do this each year.

The key ceremony at the Shining Temple was the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps. It traditionally occurred in high summer, at the peak of the pilgrimage season. With its start signaled by gongs, the ceremony involved a grand procession from the city's main road and up the Three Thousand Steps to the Shining Temple. It was led by a high priest, followed by a portable shrine called a minyan. This was carried on poles, similarly to palanquin, but was so massive it needed thirty pilgrims to lift. Behind it were six robed sohei, all devotees of Bishamon. After them came a disorderly column of pilgrims by the hundreds. The daimyo's samurai kept the streets clear and Ensuring security for the ceremony and that it went ahead without disruptions was an essential task for daimyos of Aru.

History
Originally, the site held only small to Bishamon, and though only a few dedicated monks resided there, pilgrims still made the long and difficult journey to visit it, in small but consistent numbers. Thus it was for centuries. Since there were no facilities, the pilgrims simply camped and endured the elements during their stay. Eventually, however, owing to the increasing number of pilgrims falling victim to the tough journey and austere living, with a few dying each year, the monks erected buildings on the site to allow them to stay in greater comfort.

Through a combination of pilgrims settling permanently and people setting up businesses to make a profit providing services to the pilgrims, the settlement began to grow. Over a few decades, a town grew up around the shrine. The monks used their skills, such as in martial arts, to maintain law and order and to protect the population from threats such as bandits. Meanwhile, the shrine continued to grow as a result of donations, becoming a small temple and then a larger temple. The Shining Temple of Bishamon had taken shape by Wa Year 1594 (1176 DR), and its renown attracted yet more pilgrims and tourists. Finally, in Wa Year 1608 (1190 DR), the settlement around it was officially recognized, becoming the city of Aru, the capital of the new Aru Province. Protecting the pilgrims journeying to the Shining Temple would be a key task, and headache, of its daimyos in the coming years.

In Wa Year 1754 (1336 DR), the shogun Matasuuri Nagahide gave to the temple an important sword. It had originally been given by the Spirit of the Sun to Matasuuri Shogoro, but Nagahide got the idea that it and the other gifts were unlucky, and gave them away. Thereafter, the glowing sword resided at the temple.

Around Wa Year 1775 (1357 DR), one of the monks, Yuchimo Ein, stole the sword and sold it in a dodgy pawn shop to pay off a gambling debt. He replaced the real sword with a forgery while he tried to scrape together enough coin to buy it back. When adventurers sought to retrieve the sword for Nagahide (after the Spirit of the Sun returned wondering where the sword was), they found it no longer glowing as described, and would have to investigate.

In the summer pilgrimage season of that year, a variety of strange and disturbing incidents around Aru threatened the safety of the pilgrims and the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps. Therefore, seven days before it was to take place, the daimyo of Aru, Benju Matsutomo, recruited a group of adventurers to investigate and halt them. Moreover, Nagahide sent Hiro Matsu, his personal inspector, to Aru to attend the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps in his place, both to honor Benju and to confirm his smooth governance.

First, while Benju, local nobility, and the adventurers gathered one evening on the vantage point on the hill, a ninja stole through to the apple tree and secretly poured an acid on the bell, causing to crumble and break when next it was rung. It was a bad omen, suggesting evil spirits at work or that town and temple had lost the favor of Bishamon. Another night, a glowing figure (in fact a ninja under a sheet) was witnessed in the trees east of the temple, believed to be the mysterious "tiger-bird spirit" haunting the town. To make matters worse, at the very same time, a shukenja pilgrim was found dead within the temple, pinned to a screen with a strange spear. This invoked a local legend about a jiki-ketsu-gaki presenting an omen of doom for Aru Province. In fact, all these incidents were orchestrated by the Yamaguchi ninja. Finally, the local yakuza gang, via their messenger Kimie, left the adventures a note beneath "the most enlightened priest" (in fact the closest physically to Bishamon) in the Shining Temple, which alerted them to the Yamaguchis' plot to discredit Benju. In addition, the crazed wu jen Daisake Mayazato became obsessed with stopping the pilgrimages and the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps and had his own ninja henchmen cause chaos. Meanwhile, Yuka, a zealot of the Faith of the Nine Travelers, set up a stall at the base of the Three Thousand Steps and attempted to convert pilgrims away from Bishamon to the Faith of the Nine Travelers. After he called them "benighted heathens" with a "false belief", a two-dozen-strong mob of pilgrims chased him off, possibly beating him.

Finally, when the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps proceeded, the Yamaguchi ninja—who were meant to attack and disrupt the procession, so Eichiro Tanaka, mastermind behind them could step in with his forces and defeat them, discrediting Benju—instead surprised and betrayed Eichiro and his samurai, revealing the scheme. Desperate, Eichiro attacked Hiro Matsu, and was defeated by the adventurers. Shortly after, Daisake and his three ninjas, Smoke, Snake, and Moonlight, appeared and demanded the Ceremony be cancelled forever. They and the adventurers fought a duel to decide whether it should go ahead or not. Most likely, it finally did.

Background
The Shining Temple may be inspired by the Shaka-in Temple of Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, which has the longest stone staircase in Japan, with 3,333 steps. Information and images may be seen here.

Appearances

 * Ninja Wars