is a Buddhist temple in

Fujiidera, Osaka 270px, The temple of Fujii-dera, after which the city is named is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 63,446 in 29501 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km². The total area of ...

, Japan. The temple is associated with

Shingon Buddhism Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. ...

and has as its main image a sculpture of the Thousand-armed Kannon. It is the fifth temple on the

Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage The is a pilgrimage of thirty-three Buddhist temples throughout the Kansai region of Japan, similar to the Shikoku Pilgrimage. In addition to the official thirty-three temples, there are an additional three known as . The principal image in each ...

Overview

The temple was founded on the order of

Emperor Shōmu was the 45th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, during the Nara period. Traditional narrative B ...

in 725 and consecrated by the monk Gyōki. It became part of a system of provincial temples (''

Kokubun-ji were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). History Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in each ...

'') founded by the state with the purpose of providing prayers and other services for the protection of the nation and the Imperial House. Archaeological finds on the temple grounds confirm the foundation of the temple in the 8th century and the connection to the Fujii family, descendants of the royal house of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo of Baekje, Onjo, the third son of Gogurye ...

, which had migrated to Japan. The temple was promoted by the imperial family through the centuries. Renovations are known by

Prince Abo was a Japanese imperial prince of the early Heian period. Biography He was born in 792'' Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten'' article "Abo-shinnō". Britannica.'' MyPaedia'' article "Abo-shinnō". Hitachi.''Daijisen'' entry "Abo-shinnō". Sho ...

in 806 and by

Ariwara no Narihira was a Japanese courtier and '' waka'' poet of the early Heian period. He was named one of both the Six Poetic Geniuses and the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses, and one of his poems was included in the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' collection. He i ...

. Among the patrons of the temple was the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

politician

Sugawara no Michizane was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, . In the poem anthology ''Hyakunin Isshu'', he is known a ...

. In 1096, Fujii Yasumoto had a number of buildings restored. The Emperors

Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order o ...

and

Go-Murakami (1328 – March 29, 1368) was the 97th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and a member of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō period of rival courts. He reigned from September 18, 1339, until March 29, 13 ...

are said to have been admirers of the temple's main image. The temple was destroyed by earthquake in 1510 and renovated in 1602 by

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's second son. The birth of Hideyori cr ...

. The four gates of the temple date from this time. The present main hall was completed in 1776. The main image is a seated sculpture of a thousand-armed and eleven-headed Kannon, produced in a dry lacquer technology, and designated as a

National Treasure of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry ...

. The statue has a total of 1041 arms: 2 main arms with the hand palms facing each other in front of the statue, 38 large and 1001 small arms extending from behind the body.

References

* Patricia Frame Rugola: ''The Saikoku Kannon Pilgrimage Route.'' Dissertation, Ohio State University, 1986. * Valeria Jana Schwanitz und August Wierling: ''Saigoku - Unterwegs in Japans westlichen Landen.'' Manpuku-Verlag, Potsdam 2012, . *. {{Coord , 34.570186, N, 135.596556, E, type:landmark_dim:100_region:JP-30, display=title Buddhist temples in Osaka Prefecture Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Japan Religious buildings and structures completed in 725 8th-century Buddhist temples

Overview

See also

References