is a

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 ...

located in the Hiso neighborhood of the town of Ōyodo,

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. It belongs to the

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...

school of

Japanese Zen :''See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan'' Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen, Zen Buddhism, an orig ...

and its ''

honzon , sometimes referred to as a Gohonzon ( or ), is the enshrined main image or principal deity in Japanese Buddhism. The buddha, bodhisattva, or mandala image is located in either a temple or a household butsudan. The image can be either a statue ...

'' is a 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 ...

. Founded by

Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half ...

, it is 7th of the

Historical Sites of Prince Shōtoku The Historical Sites of Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子御遺跡霊場, ''Shōtoku taishi goiseki reijō'') are a group of 28 Buddhist temples in Japan related to the life of Prince Shōtoku. Directory

{{DEFAULTSORT:Historical Sites of Pr ...

and the temple precincts have been designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1927.

Overview

Originally known as Yoshino-ji (吉野寺), the temple is one of the 48 temples said to have been built by Prince Shōtoku during his lifetime. Based on

roof tile Roof tiles are overlapping tiles designed mainly to keep out precipitation such as rain or snow, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or slate. Later tiles have been made from materials such as concrete, glass ...

s found at the temple during

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s and the

Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Seven Great Temples of Nanto, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism. Yakushi-ji is one of the ...

style layout of the original temple structures (including twin three-story pagodas), the foundation of the temple dates from the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

(late 7th century). During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, the temple was called was called Yoshino-ji Hiso-san-ji ( 吉野寺比曽比蘇山寺), and was entrusted to the monk

Dao-xuan Dao-xuan (, 702-760) or ''Dōsen'' in Japanese was a prominent Chinese monk in early Japanese Buddhism, responsible for importing Northern School Chan teachings, Huayan school teachings and the Bodhisattva Precepts to Japan in 736. He also ser ...

, an immigrant from

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. The famous monk Shin'ei from

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

also resided at the temple, and studied the

Tripitaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.

here for 20 years. In 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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, the temple was renamed Genko-ji (現光寺), after the legend that its ''honzon'' statue of Amida Nyorai and a wooden standing eleven-headed

Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

Bodhisattva statue, were emitting light. This legend is also recorded in the ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'', which states that during the reign of

Emperor Kinmei was the 29th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–2 ...

a log from a

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

tree which has washed ashore in

Izumi Province :''The characters ''泉州'' are also used for the name of the Chinese city of Quanzhou''. was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of southern Osaka Prefecture. It bordered on Kii Province, Kii to the south, Yamato Province, Ya ...

was shining "like sunlight", so the emperor ordered that a craftsman to make two Buddhist statues, one of which is the Amida at Yoshino-ji. A separate entry in the ''Nihon Shoki'' states that during the reign of

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō''): She introduced Buddhism in Japan and built many Buddhist temples, but she held the balance between Buddhism and Shintoism. Under her rule, Japan ...

a log which emitted light like lightning washed ashore in

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

, and when burned gave off a "wonderful fragrance". This is the first record of

agarwood Agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gharuwood or the Wood of Gods, commonly referred to as oud or oudh (from , ), is a fragrant, dark and resinous wood used in incense, perfume, and small Woodworking, hand carvings. It forms in the heartwood of ...

in Japanese chronicles. The empress ordered that a statue of Kannon Bosatsu be carved from this log and enshrined Yoshino-ji. The temple flourished in the Heian period, and was visited by

Fujiwara Michinaga was a Japanese statesman. The Fujiwara clan's control over Japan and its politics reached its zenith under his leadership. Early life Michinaga was born in Kyōto, the son of Kaneie. Kaneie had become Regent in 986, holding the position unt ...

Emperor Seiwa was the 56th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 清和天皇 (56)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876. Traditional narrative Seiwa was the fourth ...

Emperor Uda was the 59th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 宇多天皇 (59)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897. Traditional narrative Name and legacy Befor ...

and others. However, it gradually fell into decline. It was renamed Hiso-ji (比曽寺) after a reconstruction in 1279, and became a

Shingon Risshu The is a comparatively small medieval sect of Buddhism in Japan that arose in the Kamakura period as an offshoot of Shingon Buddhism. Its founder was a monk named Eison (叡尊 1201-1290), a disciple of Jōkei, and carried further by Eison's disci ...

temple after restoration by

Eison (1201–1290) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded the Shingon Risshu sect. Eison entered religious training when he was eleven years old, studying initially at Daigo-ji and later at Kongōbu-ji. At the age of 34, while at Saidai-ji, he ma ...

. During the

Nanboku-chō period The , also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336-1392 CE, during the formative years of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 ...

, it was visited by

Emperor 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 ...

, who renamed it Rittenhō-ji (栗天奉寺). The temple's west pagoda had been destroyed during the wars of the Azuchi-Momoyama period, but the east pagoda, which dates from the end of the

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 ...

remained intact. This structure was dismantled by

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

in 1594 and relocated to

Fushimi Castle , also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residen ...

. Subsequently, it was relocated again by

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

in 1601 to

Mii-dera , also known as just Onjo-ji, or , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of t ...

, where it remains to this day. This structure is an Important Cultural Property. The temple declined again, and was restored with the aid of its sub-temple, Hōrin-ji and converting to the Jōdo sect before Horin-ji was destroyed in a fire in 1731. During the mid-

Edo Period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(1751), the temple converted to the Sōtō school and became independent of Hōrin-ji. The Main Hall of the modern temple is built on the site of the Lecture Hall of the ancient temple, the foundation stones of which remain surrounding the modern building. The foundation stones of the east and west pagodas also remain in situ. The temple is located seven minutes by car or 40 minutes on foot from

Muda Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Ōyodo, Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company, Kintetsu Railway. Line Muda Station is served by the Yoshino Line and is 20.7 kilom ...

Yamato-Kamiichi Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Yoshino, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company, Kintetsu Railway. Lines Yamato-Kamiichi Station is served by the Yoshino Line and is 22.9 kilometer ...

on the

Kintetsu Yoshino Line The is a railway line in Nara Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway. It connects in Kashihara and in Yoshino. All Express and Limited Express trains continue to and from Ōsaka Abenobashi Station on the M ...

. Sesonji (Oyodo), hondou-2.jpg, Hondo File:Sesonji (Oyodo), taishidou.jpg, Taishi-do（Nara Prefectural Important Cultural Property） File:Sesonji (Oyodo), chumon.jpg, Inner Gate File:Hisodera, toutou-1.jpg, site of the East Pagoda File:Hisodera, toutou-3.jpg, Foundation stones of the East Pagoda File:Hisodera, toutou-4.jpg, Center foundation for the East Pagoda File:Hisodera, saitou-1.jpg, Site of the West Pagoda File:Hisodera, saitou-3.jpg, Foundation stones of the West Pagoda File:Hisodera, saitou-4.jpg, Center foundation for the West Pagoda

References

External links

Oyodo town home page
{{Buddhist temples in Japan Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture Soto temples Yamato Province Prince Shōtoku Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Asuka period Ōyodo, Nara Nara Prefecture designated tangible cultural property