Kikō-ji

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Main hall
Floor plan of the main hall (dotted: stone floor)

The Kikō-ji ( Japanese 喜 光寺 ) is a temple of the Hossō direction of Buddhism in the city of Nara in Japan. It is said to have been built by Gyōki in the 8th century.

history

The temple is said to have been built in 721 by Gyōki , to whom a certain Tera no Fuhitomaru ( 寺 史 乙 丸 ) in Heijō-kyō had provided a plot of land in the Ukyō Sanjō-Sanbō district . According to another tradition, Gyōki is said to have built the temple at the request of Emperor Gemmei in 715. Gyōki himself retired to this temple on the evening of his life and is said to have died there in 749.

When Emperor Shōmu paid a visit to the temple in 748 , the cult figure is said to have emitted a strange light, so that the temple was called Kikō-ji - Temple of the Good Luck. But since the Sugawara, including the famous Sugawara no Michizane , resided in the area , the temple was also called Sugawara-dera.

Since Gyōki wanted to create something similar to the outside, like the ten times larger Buddha hall of Tōdai-ji , this temple is also called "Buddha hall design" ( 試 み の 大 仏 殿 , Kokoromi no Daibutsuden ).

The Kikō-ji is now an outer temple of the Yakushi-ji in Nara.

The attachment

The original facility burned down in 1499, and the main hall ( 本 堂 , Hondō ) was rebuilt in 1544 . It stands on a platform and is 13.96 m wide and 10.91 m deep. With its mezzanine, it resembles the Yakushi-ji and also a little bit the later Tōdai-ji. She lets in the light from the west, which seems like a greeting from the Amida Buddha. The hall is registered as an Important Cultural Asset of Japan .

Treasures of the temple

In the main hall, an Amida Buddha is venerated, a seated wooden figure that dates from the Heian period and is also an important cultural asset. The statue is 2.33 m high and shows remnants of gilding. The Buddha is flanked by the holy Kanjizai ( 観 自在 菩薩 ) and Seishi ( 勢 至 菩薩 ). They are 1.6 m high and date from the time of Namboku-cho .

On the temple grounds there are 47 stone figures depicting Buddhas and saints such as Amida, Kannon , Jizō , Fudō Myōō . Originally, they were scattered all over the site until they were brought together as a group in one place.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Tera no Fuhitomaru was the ancestor of the Sugawara , a branch of the Haji ( 土 師 ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mainichi Shimbun-sha (Ed.): Juyo bunkazai 12. Kenzobutsu I. Mainichi Shimbun-sha, 1973.

literature

  • Nara-ken kotogakko-kyoka token kenkyu-kyokai rekishi bukai (Ed.): Kiko-ji . In: Nara-ken no rekishi sampo (jo). Yamakawa Shuppan, 2010. ISBN 978-4-634-24629-4 .

Web links

Coordinates: 34 ° 41 ′ 5 ″  N , 135 ° 46 ′ 40 ″  E