is a

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

Kunisaki is a small coastal city located in Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 25,721 in 13082 households, and a population density of 81 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kunisaki co ...

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,081,646 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, K ...

, Japan. It is located on the slopes of Mount Futago ( 両子山, ''Futagosan''), the highest mountain on the

Kunisaki Peninsula The Kunisaki Peninsula (国東半島, ''Kunisaki Hantō'') is a peninsula in northern Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan that juts out into the Seto Inland Sea. The peninsula is almost circular. There is Mount Futago ( 両子山, ''Futago-san'') in t ...

. The temple is said to have been established in 718 by Ninmon ( 仁聞), a legendary monk, and became the central temple of the

Rokugō Manzan Rokugō Manzan (六郷満山) refers to both a group of temples and a unique religious culture on the Kunisaki Peninsula (国東半島, ''Kunisaki Hantō'') surrounding Mount Futago ( 両子山, ''Futago-san'') in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. The '' ...

(六郷満山) temples. The ''Rokugō Manzan'' culture is said to be the origin of

Shinbutsu-shūgō ''Shinbutsu-shūgō'' (, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called ''Shinbutsu-konkō'' (, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, Buddhism that was Japan's main organized rel ...

, or the

syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

. As such, both Shinto and Buddhist elements can be seen at Futago-ji. both Shinto and Buddhist elements. ">Shinbutsu-shūgō">both Shinto and Buddhist elements. The temple precincts are a Prefectural Historic Site included within a Special Zone of the

Setonaikai National Park is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering Prefectures of Japan, prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, know ...

Treasures

* Seated wooden statue of

Amida Nyorai Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Ro ...

(late

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

) ( Prefectural Cultural Property) * Stone

tō Multi-storied pagodas in wood and stone, and a ''gorintō'' Pagodas in Japan are called , sometimes or , and derive historically from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian ''stupa''. Like the ''stupa'', pagodas were ori ...

(Kamakura period) (Prefectural Cultural Property) * Pair of wooden

masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

(1618, 1770) (Prefectural Cultural Property) * Stone tō ( Nanbokuchō/

Muromachi The , also known as the , is a division of History of Japan, Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially establ ...

period) ( City Cultural Property) * Stone tō (1468) (City Cultural Property) * Stone tō (Muromachi period) (City Cultural Property) * Stone

Niō are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajra ...

(1814), 245 and 230 cm (City Cultural Property) * Wooden statue of Jūichimen Kannon * Wooden statue of

Fudō Myōō or Achala (, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a wrathful deity and '' dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism., Jp. rel. dict., ...

Raigō in Japanese Buddhism is the appearance of the Amida Buddha on a "purple" cloud (紫雲) at the time of one's death. Depictions The Amida would arrive either accompanied by two bodhisattva, making it a triad depiction, or with a large retinu ...

painting

References

External links

*
Kunisaki Tourist Association information

Map of Setonaikai National Park
{{Coord, 33, 34, 26.4, N, 131, 36, 11.6, E, region:JP-44_type:landmark, display=title Buddhist temples in Oita Prefecture Tendai temples 8th-century establishments in Japan 718 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 710s Designated historic sites of Oita Prefecture

Treasures

See also

References

External links