Jikō-ji (Saitama Prefecture)
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The Jikō-ji ( Japanese 慈光 寺 ) with the mountain name Tokisan ( 都 幾 山 ) and sub-temple name Ichijō Hokke-in ( 一 乗法 華 院 ) is a temple complex of the Tendai direction of Buddhism in Tokigawa , Hiki County, scattered below the Toki Mountain in the mountains ( 比 企 郡 ) ( Saitama Prefecture ), Japan. In the traditional census, the temple is the 9th of the 33 temples in the Kantō region .
history
According to tradition, the temple was built in 673. In the first year Hōki ( 宝 亀 元年 Hōki gannen ), so 770, it was opened by priest Dōchū ( 道 忠 ), a student of the chief priest Ganjin ( 鑑真 ). In 871, at the request of the emperor Seiwa , the temple joined the Tendai direction of Buddhism and assumed a leading position in the Bantō area for this religion.
At the time when Minamoto no Yoritomo attacked the Ōshū-Fujiwara, Hatakeyama Shigetada ( 畠 山 重 忠 ; 1164–1205), the main actor of the Chichibu faction, made the temple a prayer temple for successful campaigns. The temple then temporarily owned around 75 Klausen.
During the Muromachi period , the temple was attacked by the rulers at Matsuyama Castle, the Ueda, and lost its importance. In the Edo period , the temple was supported by Bakufu , recovered and is still an important temple in the area today.
The attachment
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On the way to the main buildings you pass nine tombstone slabs ( 板 石塔 婆 Itaishi tōba ), which date from the Kamakura to the Muromachi period . The group is registered as an asset of the prefecture. The fact that so many records have survived is probably due to the fact that they were brought here from abandoned Klausen at the beginning of the Meiji period .
If you climb further up, you get to the main hall ( 本 堂 Hondō ; 1). Next to it is a pavilion that houses the pagoda in memory of the founding of the temple, the Kaisan-tō ( 開山 塔 ; 3). The current one was made in 1556 and is 5.1 m high. It is the only surviving wooden pagoda from the Muromachi period and is registered as an Important Cultural Property of Japan . The pagoda is not clearly visible from its home, but there is a copy in the Museum of History and Folklore of Saitama Prefecture ( 埼 玉 県 立 歴 史 と 民俗 の 博物館 Saitama kenritsu rekishi to minzoku hakubutsukan ). the neighboring buildings, the Zaō-dō ( 蔵 王 堂 ' Zaō Hall' ), the Shaka-do ( 釈 迦 堂 ' Shaka Hall' ) and the bell tower ( 鐘楼 Shōrō ) were lost in a fire in 1985. In the reconstructed bell tower (2) hangs a copper bell from 1245, which is registered as an important cultural asset of Japan. It was made by the bell founder Mononobe Shigemitsu ( 物 部 重 光 ), who also cast the bell of the Kenchō-ji in Kamakura .
Further west is the Hannya Shingyō-dō ( 般若 心 堂 堂 ; 4), a hall dedicated to the Heart Sutra . The Kannon Hall is even further to the west ( 観 音 Noch ; 5). The current hall dates from 1803. It houses a thousand-armed Kannon ( 千手 観 音 立 像 ), which is registered as a cultural asset of the prefecture. The Kannon is 270.0 cm high, is composed of pieces of Hinoki wood and is painted. The original figure was lost in a fire in 1802, but was replaced by a replica in the same year. It is open to the public every year on the 2nd Sunday in April and on the 17th day of the month.
Temple treasures
The ornate "complete Hokke Sutra" ( 法 華 経 一 品 経Hokke-kyō ippon-kyō ) belongs to the temple treasures that are kept in the Konrenzō ( 金蓮 蔵 ; S) named treasure house . It was copied by the ex-emperor Go-Toba and other high nobles and is registered as a national treasure. The temple also has the oldest copy of the "Great Hannya Sutra" ( 黒 書 大 般若 経 ) in the Kantō area and gilded bronze utensils of esoteric Buddhism ( 金銅 密 教具Kondō mikkyō-gu ). Both are important cultural assets of Japan.
Remarks
- ↑ The Chichibu faction ( 秩 父 党 Chichibu-tō ) included the Chichibu , the Hatakeyama and other branches.
literature
- Saitama-ken kotogakko shakai ka kyoiku kenkyukai rekishi bukai (Ed.): Jiko-ji . In: Saitama-ken no rekishi sampo. Yamakawa Shuppan, 2005. ISBN 978-4-634-24611-9 . Pp. 92, 93.
Web links
Coordinates: 36 ° 0 ′ 41.4 ″ N , 139 ° 13 ′ 55.6 ″ E