Nofuku-ji
The Nōfuku-ji ( Japanese 能 福寺 ) with the mountain name Hōshakuzan ( 宝 積 山 ) is a temple of the Tendai direction of Buddhism in the mountains of Kobe ( Hyōgo prefecture ). It is the 23rd temple on the New Saigoku Pilgrimage Route .
history
The temple was founded by priest Saichō in the 24th year of Enryaku (805) shortly after his return from Tang-era China . The temple is known for the fact that later Taira no Kiyomori , after he left the house, cut his hair here and made his monk vows under the name "Jōkai" ( 浄 海 ). There are various representations of Kiyomori's tomb. After his death in 1181, his remains are said to have been buried on the Heishōkokubyō, which was originally located at the Taiheisan Hattō-ji ( 太平山 八 棟 ) belonging to the Nōfuku-ji .
investment
You enter the temple from the east and go straight to the main hall ( 本 堂 Hondō ; in plan 1), which is poetically called “Tsuji no Waeiden” ( 月 輪 影 殿 ), for example “moonlight hall”. On the way there you pass two memorial stones on the right side, first the one for Hamada Hikozō (9), better known as "Joseph Heco", because he had been in the USA for a long time. It is the first memorial stone in Japan to have an inscription in English. The memorial stone behind it is dedicated to Kitakaze Shōzō ( 北風 正 造 ; 8), an entrepreneur who campaigned for the development of the prefecture and for Kobe at the beginning of the Meiji period . Behind the memorial stones is the abbot and monk's quarters (A) in the north.
In the southern temple area, the path leads from the entrance to a large Buddha statue, the Great Buddha of Hyōgo ( 兵 庫 大 仏 Hyōgo Daibutsu ; 2). He embodies one of the five Adibuddhas , the Vairocana (Japanese 毘盧遮那 Birushana ). He stands on an octagonal platform that can be reached by stairs. After the temple was demolished after the Meiji Restoration as part of the often violent separation of Buddhism and Shinto , there was a calming down in the later years of the Meiji period . A large Buddha statue was erected in 1891, which - together with the great Buddhas of Nara and Kamakura - was counted among the "three greats". In 1944, however, the bronze statue was melted down due to the demand for metal caused by the Pacific War . It was not until 1991 that a new figure with a different design could be erected. The body height is 11 m, the base 3 m and the weight 60 t.
On the way to the Big Buddha you pass the memorial stone for Taki Zensaburo ( 滝 善 三郎 ; 1837–1868; 7), a samurai who lost his life in connection with the Kobe incident on the left . Next to it is the bell tower of the temple (鐘楼, Shōrō; 6), the grave of Kiyomori from the former Heishōkokubyō ( 平 相 国 廟 ; 5) and the small shrine Tōshō Inaridō ( 當 勝 稲 荷 堂 ; 4).
The stone pieces also include the lantern-like stone pagoda ( 宝 篋 印 塔 Hōkyōintō ) in front of the Heishōkokubyō and a nine- tier stone pagoda ( 九重 塔Kyūjū no tō ). Both sculptures date from the Kamakura period . A statue of the temple founder Saicho can also be seen.
Temple treasures
Among the temple treasures is an eleven-faced Kannon ( 木造 十 一面 観 音 菩薩 立 像 Mokuzō jūichimen Kannon bosatsu ritsuzō ) from the Heian period . It is made from a piece of Hinoki wood and is registered as an important cultural asset of Japan . the sculpture came in the Hōreki era (1751-1764) from Zensui-ji ( 善 水 寺 ) in Shiga prefecture to Wada shrine ( 和田 神社 ) in Hyōgo prefecture and finally in the Meiji period to this temple.
Remarks
- ↑ The Kobe incident occurred in 1868 when angry samurai shot at the French as they went ashore. The Japanese government cracked down on them and ordered that all participants be executed.
literature
- Hyōgo-ken no rekishi sampo henshu iinkai (Ed.): Nōfuku-ji . In: Hyogo-ken no rekishi sampo (jo). Yamakawa Shuppan, 2012. ISBN 978-4-634-24628-7 . P. 46.
Web links
Coordinates: 34 ° 40 ′ 4.8 ″ N , 135 ° 10 ′ 17 ″ E