Ōya-ji
The Ōya-ji ( Japanese 大谷 寺 ), also called Ōya-Kannon , is a temple of the Tendai Buddhist discipline in the mountains on the edge of the Ōya district of Utsunomiya , Japan. In the traditional count, the temple is the 19th of the 33 temples in the Kantō region .
history
According to tradition, the main cult figure , a thousand-armed Kannon ( 千手 観 音Senshu Kannon ) with a height of 4.9 m, was carved out of a soft indentation in the rock face by priest Kūkai in 801. She was venerated from ancient times as Ōya-Kannon and then became the 19th station on the Bandō pilgrimage during the Kamakura period . At first the chiseled figure was covered with clay, painted red and made shiny with gold leaf.
According to the latest research, there are similarities with the stone Buddhas of Bamiyan , so that this Kannon could have been made by monks from Afghanistan who came to Japan via the Silk Road.
The attachment
You enter the complex from the west through the temple gate ( 山門 Sanmon ), which is designed here as a Niō gate ( 仁王 門 Niō-mon ), i.e. as a gate with the two temple guards to the right and left of the passage. A little further up is the small main hall ( 本 堂 Hondō ) at the foot of the rock face and built into it.
In a side hall there are three Buddha trinities, cut from the stone wall: Shaka Nyorai with two companions ( 石 造 伝 釈 迦 三 尊像 Sekizō den-Sahaka sanzon-zō ) from the late Heian period , Yakushi Nyorai with companions ( 石 造 伝 薬 師 三尊像 Sekizō den-Yakushi sanzon-zō ) from the early Heian period and an Amida-Nyorai trinity ( 石 造 伝 阿 弥陀 三 尊像 Sekizō den-Amida sanzon-zō ) from the Kamakura period . On the right behind the temple gate is a copper bell that was cast by the bell caster Tomuro Sadakuni ( 戸 室 定 国 ) in 1695. It is registered as a cultural asset of the prefecture. In front of the Kannon Hall is a bronze lantern, which, according to the inscription, was cast by Tomuro Gemba ( 戸 室 元 蕃 ) in 1716 and donated by Takahashi Yoshikatsu ( 高橋 吉 勝 ) from Nissato ( 新 里 村 , today a district of Utsunomiya).
A little below the temple, in an abandoned quarry, stands a 27 m high Kannon figure, called "Peace Kannon". It was carved out of the soft rock from 1948 to 1952 in memory of the war dead.
Temple treasures
In the treasure house, devices and bones from the Jōmon period are shown, which were found in caves in the rock. A copper bell ( 銅製 鰐 口dōsei waniguchi ) from 1667 can also be seen.
Remarks
literature
- Tochigi-ken no rekishi sampo henshū iinkai (Ed.): Oya-ji . In: Tochigi-ken no rekishi sampo. Yamakawa Shuppan, 2008. ISBN 978-4-634-24609-6 . P. 26, 27.
Web links
Coordinates: 36 ° 35 ′ 46.4 ″ N , 139 ° 49 ′ 15.3 ″ E