Kobo Daishi and Tachiki Kannon

In 815, while Kobo Daishi Kukai was going on a pilgrimage all over the country, from around Oishi he saw a sacred tree emitting light on the mountainside of Mt. Tachiki. He thought it must be a guide from Buddha, and tried to go ahead towards the sacred tree; however, the current of the River Seta was too rapid to cross, so he was just stuck there. Suddenly a white stag appeared from nowhere and encouraged Kobo Daishi to get on his back. While Kobo Daishi went on his back, the stag jumped across the rapid current and took him to the sacred tree emitting light. He had no sooner taken Kobo Daishi to the tree than he turned into Kannon Bosatsu (Bodhisattva), and disappeared into thin air. Kobo Daishi was impressed with this good omen and carved an approximately 1.6-meter-high statue of Kannon on the standing tree, the height of which was the same as the height of Kobo Daishi. The remaining wood was used to build a temple to enshrine the statue. Due to such a story, the name of the valley where Kobo Daishi crossed on the back of the stag became Shishitobi [jumping deer], and the temple built by Kobo Daishi was called Tachiki [standing tree] Kannon.