You might meet a sutra called Hannya Shin gyo if you have a chance to attend a Buddhist mass. This Hannya Shin gyo is a very short sutra consisting of only 276 Chinese characters. However, the original sutra, Dai Hannya Kyo, is about 600 volumes. Hannya Shi gyo is the essence of this massive sutra.

At Uonuma Jinjya in Ojiya, there are 555 volumes of the copy of this Dai Hannya Kyo. Nowadays, we have a very convenient copy machine, but our ancestors transcribed them night and day.

It is said that this Dai Hannya Kyo was brought to Ojiya from Etchu (now Toyama Pref.) and dedicated to Uonuma Jinjya by a famous Japanese military commander, Uesugi Kenshin, in Sengoku period,.

Uonuma Jinjya Dai Hannya Kyo is designated as a cultural property by Niigata Pref.

２０１４．１．２５