Sefuku-ji
The Sefuku-ji ( Japanese 福寺 ) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Izumi , Osaka prefecture in Japan . It is also known under the name Makinoo-dera ( 槇 尾 寺 ). The temple is associated with the Tendai-shu belief . The main image of the temple is a statue of Maitreya . Furthermore, a statue of the thousand-armed Kannon is particularly venerated. The Sefuku-ji is the fourth temple of the Saigoku pilgrimage route ( 西 国 三十 三 箇 所 , Saigoku sanjūsankasho ).
overview
The Sefuku-ji arose in connection with the mountain worship in the early days of Japanese Buddhism. The legendary Saint Gyoman, who is said to have built the temple at the request of Emperor Kimmei in 538, is considered to be the founder . Legends also connect the temple with the mountain ascetic En no Gyōja and the monk Gyōki .
The temple is closely linked to the founder of Shingon-shū , Kūkai . In Sefuku-ji, Kūkai received the tonsure from the monk Gonzo in 804. After returning from China, he lived in Sefuku-ji for two years and translated a variety of Buddhist sutras into Japanese.
In its heyday, the temple complex provided shelter for 970 monks and owned land worth 20,000 koku . After the temple was completely destroyed by Oda Nobunaga's troops in 1581, Toyotomi Hideyori had the complex rebuilt in 1603. During the Sefuku-ji previously with the Shingon-shū faith , he switched to the Tendai-shū in the Kan'ei period (1624-1643) . Until the 19th century it was an extensive temple complex with a large number of secondary temples. A fire destroyed much of the complex in 1845, and only a few buildings were rebuilt in the period that followed. Today there are 7 temple buildings on the site, including the main hall from 1850 .
The original main portrait is said to have been created by Hokai Shonin in 771. It burned down in 1845 and had to be rebuilt. The statue is a so-called hidden Buddha ( hibutsu ) and is only shown on May 15th each year.
literature
- Patricia Frame Rugola: The Saikoku Kannon Pilgrimage Route . Dissertation, Ohio State University, 1986.
- Ryotaro Shiba : Kukai the Universal: Scenes from His Life . ICG Muse Shuppan, Tokyo 2003, ISBN 978-4-925080-47-7 .
- Valeria Jana Schwanitz and August Wierling: Saigoku. On the way in Japan's western lands . Manpuku-Verlag, Potsdam, 2012, ISBN 978-3-9815168-0-7 .
Web links
Coordinates: 34 ° 23 ′ 34.5 " N , 135 ° 30 ′ 41.7" E