Cherished Legend·Rakuchū / Nishijin

Hoon-ji and the Crying Tiger

This Jōdo temple in Nishijin keeps a painting of a tiger attributed to Shimei Toitsu. Said to have been granted by Emperor Go-Kashiwabara in 1501, it earned the name "Crying Tiger" from the tale that when Hideyoshi hung it in his Jurakudai palace, the beast roared each night and robbed him of sleep, so he returned it. To spare the fragile work, it is shown only on the first three days of a Year of the Tiger. The temple also carries the legend of a bell that is never rung.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.