Engyō-ji

Large teaching hall

Large teaching hall, plan

The Engyō-ji ( Japanese 圓教寺 , also spelled 円教寺 in simplified form) is a temple of the Tendai direction of Buddhism on the southern slope of Mount Shosha in the north of the city of Himeji in Hyōgo prefecture . It is the 27th temple on the Saigoku Pilgrimage Route .

history

According to tradition, High Priest Shōkū ( 性空上人 ~ -shōnin ) laid the foundation stone in 966 on the southern edge of Mount Shosha ( 書写山 ~ -san ). Although the temple is quite remote from Kyōto, it was not only visited by the imperial family and the nobility, but even by the emperor himself. The temple was also called " Hiei-zan of the West" and was one of the "Three Great Pilgrimage Destinations" of Tendai.

The attachment

(In the following, the symbol ◎ stands for " Important Cultural Property of Japan ".)

The temple extends with its buildings over a larger area of the southern slope of the Shosha. In the lower area is the entrance gate with the sculptures of the two temple guards, the Niō gate ( 仁王門 ~ -mon ). Once you have passed it, you will already find some buildings of the temple complex, including the Jūmyō-in ( 十妙院 ) from the beginning of the Edo period . It has sliding doors inside, which were painted by Kanō Einō .

In the middle of the complex you can reach the via a longer staircase

Mani-den ( 摩尼殿 ), a structure that stands over supports on the slope. It was rebuilt in the Shōwa period .

At the height of the mani is the bell tower ( 鐘楼 shoro ; ◎), further to the left the small Congo-Hall ( 金剛堂 Kongōdō ; ◎) a square layout of 3 × 3 Ken , which are here 4.88 × 4.88 m. An altar shrine ( 厨子 Zushi ; ◎) is kept in the hall.

Higher up there is an ensemble of three buildings around a small square
- Refectory ( 食堂 Jikidō ; ◎), in the middle with an extension of 15 × 5 Ken, that is here 38.69 × 10.22 m. It was built on two floors at the request of Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1174 and, with its length of almost 40 m, is unique in Japan.

You can see right at the top in the “rear area” ( 奥の院 Oku no in )

the Gohōdō ( 護法堂 ; ◎), which consists of two small Shintō shrines. The "Hall of the Temple Founder " ( 開山堂Kaisandō ) and other buildings are also located there.

The complex includes around two dozen other temples and sub-temples, as well as the tombs of the Honda princely families and a branch of the Matsudaira .