Gokuraku-ji (Naruto)
The Gokuraku-ji ( Japanese 極 楽 寺 ) with the Go Nisshōzan (日照 山) and Muryōjuin (無量 寿 院) is a temple belonging to the Kōyasan direction (高 野山 派) of Shingon Buddhism. It is located in the city of Naruto in Tokushima Prefecture and the second temple on the list of the second temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage .
history
Priest Gyōki is said to have founded the temple. It was then priest Kūkai who read the Amida Sutra (阿 弥陀 経) here for 37 days in 815. When Amida Nyorai appeared, he is said to have made his figure out of wood and made it the main cult object. Saint Amida is said to have emitted a highlight that reached across the sea. The fishermen then raised a hill in front of the main hall to shade the light. They gave the temple the name "Nisshōzan", meaning "Sunshine Temple". In the civil war years of the 16th century, the temple fell victim to the troops of Chōsokabe Motochika . It was not until 1659 that the main hall could be rebuilt with the help of Prince Hachizuka Mitsutaka (蜂 須 賀光隆; 1630–1660).
The founding of the temple can be dated to the late Heian period on the basis of the roof tiles that were excavated on the temple grounds and which show an eight-petalled lotus pattern (八 葉 弁 蓮華 文 鐙 瓦, Hachiyōben rengemon abumigawara) .
The attachment
At the foot of the hill stands the temple gate [1], which is designed as a tower gate . On the way up you pass a number of buildings, including the abbot's quarters (方丈, Hōjō; 2]). Today's main hall (本 堂, Hondō, 3) dates from 1659. Another building above is the temple founder hall (大師 堂, Daishidō, 4). There is an ancient crescent fir on the site that Kūkai is said to have planted. She is visited by expectant mothers who pray there for a happy birth.
Treasures of the temple
The sculpture of Amida Nyorai is registered as an Important Cultural Property of Japan . The mandala pair of the "two worlds" (aar 界 曼荼羅 双 幅, Ryōkai Mandara Sōfuku) is one of the other treasures of the temple . The worlds are partly applied with gold on colored silk and are registered as a treasure of the prefecture.
photos
Main hall
Daishidō
Old crescent fir
literature
- Tokushima-ken no rekishi sampo henshu iinkai (Ed.): Gokurakuji . In: Tokushima-ken no rekishi sampo. Yamakawa Shuppan, 2009. ISBN 978-4-634-24636-2 . P. 72.
- Oguri, Doei: Kukai. Shikoku hachijuhachi kosho no arukikata. Chukei no Bunko, 2011. ISBN 978-4-8061-4067-2 .
Web links
Coordinates: 34 ° 9 ′ 20.3 " N , 134 ° 29 ′ 25.2" E