Cherished Legend·Rakuchū / Kawaramachi

Takoyakushi's Healing Octopus Legend

The Yakushi Nyorai of Eifuku-ji, the temple that gave Takoyakushi-dori its name. It is known for the legend of the 'filial octopus' (Takoyakushi): a monk who bought an octopus for his ailing mother prayed in torment over breaking his precepts, whereupon the octopus turned into the eight scrolls of the Lotus Sutra and shone with light, healing her-drawing prayers for recovery and against cancer. It sits a stone's throw from this small cafe, opened in an alley off Teramachi-Kyogoku in 2025.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.