Tosa Kokubun-ji
| Tosa Kokubun-ji | |
|---|---|
土佐国分寺 | |
 Kondō and Daishi-do | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhist |
| Deity | Senjū Kannon |
| Rite | Shingon-shū Chisan-ha |
| Location | |
| Location | 546, Kokubun-cho, Nankoku-shi, Kōchi-ken |
| Country | Japan |
  Tosa Kokubun-ji  Tosa Kokubun-ji (Japan) | |
| Geographic coordinates | 33°35′55.3″N 133°38′25.5″E / 33.598694°N 133.640417°E |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | c.Gyōki |
| Completed | c.741 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
 | |
Tosa Kokubun-ji (土佐国分寺) is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Nankoku, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Shingon-shū Chisan-ha sect, and its honzon is a statue of Senjū Kannon Bosatsu (Sahasrabhuja). Its full name is Mani-zan Hōzō-in Kokubun-ji (摩尼山宝蔵院国分寺). It is the successor to the Nara period provincial temple of former Tosa Province and Temple 29 on the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage.[1][2] [3][4] The precincts were designated a National Historic Site in 1922.[5]
History
[edit]The Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a major smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the kokubunji (国分寺).[6][7] These temples were built to a semi-standardized template, and served both to spread Buddhist orthodoxy to the provinces, and to emphasize the power of the Nara period centralized government under the Ritsuryō system.[8]
The exact circumstances of the Tosa Kokubun-ji's foundation are uncertain. According to temple legend, ite was founded in 741 by Gyōki, who carved the Senjū Kannon Bodhisattva and enshrined it as the principal image. Later, in 815, Kūkai carved a statue of Bishamonten and enshrined it in the inner sanctuary. He also practiced the secret teachings of Hoshi-ku, and the temple became the main dōjō for these esoteric Buddhism practices, and the statue of Kōbō Daishi at the temple is still called the "Hoshi-ku Daishi." It later became a Shingon Buddhist temple around that time. The temple first appears in historical documentation, in the Shoku Nihongi, which records that in 756 Buddhist implements were bestowed on the provincial temples of 26 provinces, including Tosa. The temple is located along the right bank of the Kokubu River, which meanders southwest through the central northern part of the Kōchi Plain. The area around Tosa Kokubunji was the location of the provincial government office of Tosa Province, and was the location to which Ki no Tsurayuki, the author of "Tosa Nikki" spent four years as provincial governor. The site of te provincial government office is located a 15-minute walk from Kokubunji.[9]
Archaeological excavations have been carried out several times since 1977, and the unearthing of roof tile mounds, heated tiles, and earthenware revealed that the original building was destroyed by fire in the late Heian period. On the south side of the temple grounds, the remains of the stone foundation buildings of the east and west wings were discovered, and a group of post-hole buildings thought to be monks' quarters were discovered to the north of the current main hall, and post-hole buildings, walls, and ditches were confirmed further north of the current temple grounds.[9]
The temple was burned down many times during wars, but in 1558, the main hall was rebuilt by Chōsokabe Kunichika and Chōsokabe Motochika. In 1655, the second daimyō of Tosa Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate, Yamauchi Tadayoshi, donated the Sanmon. The Kondō of the temple was rebuilt in 1558 by Chōsokabe Motochika and is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property (ICP).[10] It houses two statues of Yakushi Nyorai, one from the Heian period and one from the Kamakura period, both of which are also ICPs.[11] [12] The temple's bonshō dates from the early Heian period and is the oldest temple bell in Kochi Prefecture. It is also an ICP.[13]
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Sanmon -
Kondō (ICP) -
Daishi-dō -
Kaisan-dō -
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Miyata, Taisen (2006). The 88 Temples of Shikoku Island, Japan. Koyasan Buddhist Temple, Los Angeles. p. 136.
- ^ Miyazaki, Tateki (2004). Shikoku henro hitori aruki dōgyō-ninin. Matsuyama. p. 79.
- ^ "第29番札所 摩尼山 宝蔵院 国分寺 – （一社）四国八十八ヶ所霊場会". www.88shikokuhenro.jp. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ Kōchi-ken no rekishi sanpo. Kōchi-ken Kōtō Gakkō Kyōiku Kenkyūkai. Rekishi Bukai., 高知県高等学校教育研究会. 歴史部会. (1-han ed.). Tōkyō: Yamakawa Shuppansha. 2006. ISBN 4-634-24639-2. OCLC 76788376.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "土佐国分寺跡". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ Brown, Delmer M. (1993). Cambridge History of Japan vol. I. Cambridge University Press. p. 255.
- ^ Yiengpruksawan, Mimi Hall (1998). Hiraizumi: Buddhist Art and Regional Politics in Twelfth-Century Japan. Harvard University Press. pp. 22f.
- ^ Shively, Donald H.; McCullough, William H. (1999). Cambridge History of Japan vol. II (p.31f.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b Isomura, Yukio; Sakai, Hideya (2012). (国指定史跡事典) National Historic Site Encyclopedia. 学生社. ISBN 4311750404.(in Japanese)
- ^ "国分寺金堂". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "木造薬師如来立像". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "木造薬師如来立像". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "梵鐘". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Tosa Kokubun-ji at Wikimedia Commons
- Tosa Kokubun-ji(in Japanese)
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