Minamihokke-ji

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Minami Hokke-ji (Tsubosaka-dera)
葛井寺
Minami Hokke-ji Pagoda
Religion
AffiliationBuddhist
DeityJūichimen Senjū Kannon
RiteShingon
Statusfunctional
Location
Location3 Tsubosaka,Takatori-cho, Takaichi-gun, Nara-ken
Minamihokke-ji is located in Nara Prefecture
Minamihokke-ji
Shown within Nara Prefecture
Minamihokke-ji is located in Japan
Minamihokke-ji
Minamihokke-ji (Japan)
Geographic coordinates34°25′35.6″N 135°48′37″E / 34.426556°N 135.81028°E / 34.426556; 135.81028
Architecture
Founderc. Benki
Completedc.703
Website
Official website
Map
from the picture album "Kannon Reigen ki"

Minami Hokke-ji (南法華寺) is a Buddhist temple located in the Tsubosaka neighborhood of the town of Takatori, Nara Prefecture Japan. It belongs to the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism and its honzon is a statue of Jūichimen Senjū Kannon. The temple's full name is Tsubosaka-san Minami-Hokke-ji (壺阪山 南法華寺), but it is more commonly known as "Tsubosaka-dera" (壺阪寺). The temple is the 6th stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage route.[1][2][3][4]

Overview

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Much about the temple's founding remains unknown. According to the temple's "Minami-Hokke-ji Kōrōden," the monk Benki of Gangō-ji in Heijō-kyō, founded the temple in 703. Benki, while practicing asceticism on the mountain, placed a crystal jar in a hermitage at the top of the hill and enshrined a Kannon statue. It later became a prayer temple for Empress Genshō. During the Heian period, while Heian-kyō's Kiyomizu-dera was still called Kita-Hokke-ji (北法華寺), this temple was called Minami-Hokke-ji (南法華寺). Along with Hase-dera, it has long flourished as a sacred site for the worship of Kannon. In 847, it was listed as a Jogaku-ji temple (a private temple within the Ritsuryō system that received treatment from the Imperial Court equivalent to official temples), along with Hase-dera. The principal image of the temple, the Jūchimen Senjō Kannon, was believed to have miraculous powers for treating eye diseases, causing the temple to be a major pilgrimage distination. Worship by aristocrats was also common, and in Chapter 194 of Sei Shōnagon's "The Pillow Book," it is listed alongside Mount Koya, Ishiyama-dera, Hōrin-ji, and Kokawa-dera as a top temple for miracles. Additionally, in 1007, Sadaijin Fujiwara no Michinaga stayed at the temple on his way to Yoshino for a pilgrimage.At its peak, the temple had 36 halls and over 60 temple buildings, but a fire in 1096 destroyed most of it. Later, it was rebuilt as a major training center for the Kojima School (Tsubosaka School) of Shingon Buddhism.

In 1211, the temple suffered damage to its main gate and monks' quarters, and suffered several other fires. It was also embroiled in wars during the Sengoku period. With the demise of the Ochi clan, which had been its patron, the temple fell into decline, with only the Muromachi period prayer hall and three-story pagoda remaining. During the Keichō era (1596–1615), Honda Toshimasa, a vassal of Toyotomi Hidenaga and lord of Takatori Castle, dedicated himself to the restoration of the temple's buildings. During the Edo period, the temple flourished under the patronage of the Uemura clan, daimyō of Takatori Domain. In the Edo Period, the temple became famous as the setting for the puppet theater play "Tsubosaka Miracle Chronicles," (壺坂霊験記) which tells the story of the love between the married couple Osato and Sawaichi. The temple's Main Hall is unusually an Octagonal Hall. Rebuilt in the Edo period, it may have been the first octagonal hall to have been built in Japan.

Because of its association with miraculous cures for eye diseases, Japan's first nursing home for the blind, "Jiboen," was built at the temple in 1961. It was relocated to Takatori Town in June 2021, and the site is now a parking lot.

The temple is approximately a five-minute walk from Fujiidera Station on the Kintetsu Minami Osaka Line.

Cultural Properties

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National Important Cultural Properties

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  • Raidō (礼堂), Mid-Muromachi period (1393–1466);[5]
  • Three-story Pagoda (三重塔), late-Muromachi period (1497);[6]
  • Colored single-character golden ring mandala on silk (絹本著色一字金輪曼荼羅図), Kamakura period; Kept at Nara National Museum[7]

References

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  1. ^ Kodansha editorial staff (2008). 西国三十三所札所会. Kodansha. ISBN 978-4062147477.
  2. ^ Tetsutaro Gosou (2017). 西国巡礼ー三十三所の歴史と現代の意義. Denki Joho-sha. ISBN 4924513105.
  3. ^ Akira Nagata (2015). 西国三十三所めぐり. JTB Publishing. ISBN 4533107222.
  4. ^ Saikoku Fuda-sho Association (1987). 西国三十三所観音巡礼: 法話と札所案内. Toki Shobo. ISBN 4886020909.
  5. ^ "南法華寺礼堂" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. ^ "南法華寺三重塔" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  7. ^ "南法華寺三重塔" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
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 Media related to Minamihokke-ji at Wikimedia Commons