Kan'on-ji (Kan'onji)

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The main hall of the temple
Plan of the temple (see text)

The Kan'on-ji ( Japanese 観 音 寺 ) with the Go Shippōzan (七宝山) is a temple of the Shingon direction of Buddhism in Kan'onji ( Kagawa Prefecture ). In the traditional count, it is the 69th temple on the Shikoku pilgrimage route . It occupies a common temple area with the Jinne-in , the 68th temple on the Shikoku pilgrimage route, which is unusual.

history

To the "Kotohiki Hachimangū" (琴 弾 八 幡 宮) named shrine nearby, the forerunner of this temple complex was built under the name "Jinggūji Hōkōin" (神宮 寺 宝光 院). In 807, the priest Kūkai came to the area and carved a seated Dainichi Buddha (木造 大 日 如 来 坐像) for the temple from wood, which, however, has been handed down as a Kannon figure and which gave the temple its name. During the Edo period , the 68th temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage route also served as a side shrine to the Kotohiki Hachimangū, the 69th remained the Kan'on-ji. At the beginning of the Meiji period, the 68th Kotohikiyama was called Jinne , as part of the now strict separation between Buddhism and Shinto ( Shinbutsu-Bunri ).

investment

You enter the complex through the temple gate, which is designed as a Niō gate (仁王 門; 1), i.e. a gate with space for the two temple guards to the right and left of the passage. If you go straight ahead and have climbed the wide stairs, you have the hall dedicated to the temple founder, the Daishidō (大師 堂; 4) of the Kan'on-ji in front of you. On the right is the mighty bell tower (鐘楼, Shōro; 5), next to it the big old camphor tree (大 楠, Ōkusu; K). Ahead you can see the main hall of Kanon-ji (金堂, Kondō; 6), it is registered as an important cultural asset of Japan . - The Yakushi Hall (薬 師 堂; 7), which formerly served as the “Western Main Hall” (西 金堂, Saikondō), is located higher up and can be reached via stairs. There is a small modern treasure pagoda, the Shinkyōden (心 経 殿; 8), right next to it. Behind the main hall, in the north, accessible via a staircase, is the small hall dedicated to the founding of the temple, the Kaisandō (開山 堂; 9).

On the south side of the complex is the modern main hall (金堂, Kondō; 2) of the Jinne-in, next to it in the south the Daishidō of the Jinne-in.

Also on the temple grounds are the common treasury (ō 館, Hōmotsukan; 10), a tiny shrine (S) dedicated to Kutsuoto Tenjin (, 音 天神), and the restaurant "Aogiri-an" (梧桐 庵; G) worth mentioning.

Treasures

One of the temple treasures is the “Kotohiki no Miya E-Engi” (琴 弾 宮 絵 縁 起), a script that contains the history of the origins of the Kotohiki shrine. The writing is illustrated and shows, among other things, the shrine with its buildings near the mountain top. Also noteworthy is a composite wood sculpture of the Buddha going into nirvana (木造 涅槃 仏 像, Nehanbutsu-zō). Both are among the temple's important cultural assets.

photos

  • Temple gate

  • Way in the temple

  • Bell tower

  • Jinne main hall (back)
    and the Daishidō of Kan'on-ji

  • Staircase to the daishidō

  • Shinkyōden

literature

  • Kagawa-ken no rekishisampo henshu iinkai (ed.): Kanon-ji . In: Kagawa-ken no rekishi sampo. Yamakawa Shuppan, 2013. ISBN 978-4-634-24637-9 . Page 201, 202.
  • Oguri, Doei: Kukai. Shikoku hachijuhachi kosho no arukikata. Chukei no Bunko, 2011. ISBN 978-4-8061-4067-2 .

Web links

Commons : Kan'on-ji  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 34 ° 8 ′ 4.2 "  N , 133 ° 38 ′ 51.1"  E

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