A Red Monster Cow in Oh-ike Lake,Ito
Once upon a time, there lived a red monster cow in Oh-ike lake( present Lake Ippeki in Ito city). The cow had a supernatural magical power and made lots of trouble for the people living near by. The cow, for example, transformed herself into a beautiful girl and beckoned a young man to come to her at the middle of the lake when he happened to pass by near the lake. The young man followed her and was drowned getting into a depth of the lake. The cow often capsized the ships crossing the lake for transporting the men and cargoes. The cow even ate a human being.
To know this fact, a holy priest named NIKKO of Koei-ji temple made up his mind to shut down the cow’s magical power by chanting the holy sutra by himself. He went to Oh-ike lake, landed one islet among 12 islets of the lake and sat down. For 7 days and 7 nights, he continuously chanted the holy sutra on the islet with his full power to shut down the magical power of the cow. Finally, the Buddhist scriptures chanted by NIKKO priest defeated the supernatural magical power of the red monster cow and NIKKO priest succeeded to shut down the red cow’s magical power.
Since then there happened no more trouble by the red monster cow in Oh-ike lake and people could live peacefully and happily forever.
(Presently, Lake Ippeki (former Oh-ike lake) is the only one and most beautiful lake in Izu peninsula. People call the lake “Pupil of Izu”.)
また、光栄寺の住職さんに確かめたところ「日広和尚」は「ニッコウ和尚」とも「ニチコウ和尚」とも
呼ばれるとのことです。From Umitaro