"Bodaitei Steps"
Bodaitei or the Steps of Enlightenment ,which symbolize the truth that enlightenment can be reached step by step, consist of seven flights , having 287 stone steps altogether . The number seven implies that of the letters composing the Sacred Title: na,mu,myo,ho,ren,ge, and kyo. This set of stone steps was constructed by the untiring efforts of a believer called Nizo of the Province of Sado in 1632 in the time of the 26th Chief Abbot Nissen.