Mandara-ji (Zentsūji)

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

The Mandara-ji ( Japanese 曼荼羅 寺 ) with the Go Gahaishizan (我 拝 師 山) and Emmeiin (延命 院) is a temple of the Shingon Buddhism in Zentsūji ( Kagawa Prefecture ). In the traditional count, it is the 72nd temple on the Shikoku pilgrimage route .

history

According to tradition, the Mandara.ji was founded in the 6th year Suiko (596) with the name Yosaka-dera (世 坂 寺). It is the oldest temple on Shikoku . Priest Kūkai visited the temple a year after his return from China and prayed for the welfare of his late mother. With the experience he had gained in China, he built a spacious temple complex in three years. There he donated a mandala brought from China and gave the temple its current name.

On the site was a pine that Kūkai had planted and which was called "Non-Aging Pine" (不 老 松, Furō Matsu). In the end it was not even 4 m high, but it was 17 to 18 m in circumference, so it had the shape of a mushroom. It was registered as a natural monument of the prefecture, but was lost due to worm infestation in 2002.

investment

You enter the temple area in the east through the temple gate, which is designed here as a Niō gate (仁王 門; 1), with the two temple guards to the right and left of the passage. The path behind the gate leads over a short bridge to the inner temple area. On the left is the bell tower (鐘楼, Shōrō; 2), ahead you can see the main hall (本 堂, Hondō; 3). On the right is the Kannondō (観 音 sich; 4).

In the south of the complex is the hall dedicated to the temple founder, the Daishidō (大師 堂, 5), here as usual with a square floor plan. The Gomadō (護 摩 堂; 6) also has a square floor plan . The Chinjudō (鎮守 堂: 7) is, as you can see from the Torii standing in front of it , a Shintō shrine, which is dedicated to the protection of the holy mirror. Finally, there is the tiny Jizōdō (地 蔵 堂; 8), which is dedicated to the holy Jizō , the protector of children.

Treasures

In the Kannon Hall there is a 158 cm high wooden Kannon from the late Heian period . It is registered as a cultural asset of the prefecture.

photos

  • Temple gate

  • Temple bell

  • Daishidō

  • Kannondo

  • Gomadō, Chijudō and Jizōdō

  • Jizōdō and Chinjudō

literature

  • Kagawa-ken no rekishisampo henshu iinkai (Ed.): Mandara-ji . In: Kagawa-ken no rekishi sampo. Yamakawa Shuppan, 2013. ISBN 978-4-634-24637-9 . Page 167.

Web links

Commons : Mandara-ji  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 34 ° 13 '23.9 "  N , 133 ° 45' 0.8"  E

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