Tsubosaka-dera

Central temple complex

Plan of the temple (see text)

Mandala, 13th century

The Tsubosaka-dera ( Japanese 壺阪寺 ), formally Minamihokke-ji ( 南法華寺 ), with the mountain name Tsubosaka-san ( 壺阪山 ) is a temple of a branch of the Shingon direction of Buddhism. The temple is located in Takatori in Takaichi County ( Nara Prefecture ), Japan, below Tsubosaka Mountain. It is the 6th temple on the Saigoku pilgrimage route in traditional counting .

history

According to tradition, priest Benki ( 弁基上人 ) came in the year Daihō 3 (703) on his pilgrimage through the area, found rock crystals on Mount Tsubosaka, which he loved, and carved a Kannon figure out of gratitude . This started the development of the site into this temple.

The attachment

You enter the temple complex at the foot of the hill through the temple gate ( 山門 Sanmon ; 1 in the plan) from 1212, which is called Niō-Tor ( 仁王門 Niō-mon ), i.e. through a gate with the two temple guards to the right and left of the passage is executed. Then you climb a long staircase to the inner complex, which was built on a rocky plateau. There is a three-story pagoda ( 三重塔 Sanjū-no-tō ; 4) and the “worship hall” ( 礼堂 Reidō ; 2), to which the main hall ( 八角堂 Hakkaku-dō ; 3), here octagonal, adjoins. The worship hall and pagoda are registered as an Important Cultural Property of Japan .

Slightly below is an old-style treasure pagoda ( 多宝塔 Tahōtō ; 5) from 2003 and the "Hall of the View of Mercy" ( 慈眼堂 Jigen-dō ; 8).

There is also the “Amida Hall” ( 阿弥陀堂 Amida-dō ), the “Benten Pavilion” ( 弁天堂 Benten-dō ), the “Gongen Pavilion” ( 権現堂 Gongen-dō ), the Bell tower ( 鐘楼 Shōrō ), a meeting hall ( 納礼堂 Nōrei-dō ) and other buildings.

In the Indian-designed treasure house ( 天竺渡来大石堂 Tenjiku-torai Ōishi-dō ; 6) are u. a. the following stone figures can be seen:

a large Kannon from India ( 天竺渡来大観音石像 Tenjiku-torai Dai-Kannon sekizō )
a large dying Buddha from India ( 天竺渡来大涅槃石像 Tenjiku-torai Dai-Nehan sekizō )
a great Shaka Nyorai from India ( 天竺渡来大釈迦如来石像 Tenjiku-torai Dai-Sahaka Nyorai sekizō )

Nearby is the Shaka Nyorai as an enlarged copy (7) from 2007. It is 10 m high and sits on a base 5 m high.

A large stone Kannon figure (A), which was erected in 1983, stands on the hill separated by Prefecture Street 119. With a height of 20 m and a weight of 1200 tons, it is an enlarged copy of the Kannon in the Indian treasury. At the bottom of a square you can see the dying Buddha (9), 8 m long, also an enlarged copy, made in stone, this one from 1999. Below this temple area there is a newly created cemetery (F).

Temple treasures

The temple treasures include the objects awarded as an Important Cultural Property of Japan, a brick plate with a phoenix pattern ( 鳳凰文磚 Hōō monsen ) from the early Nara period and a colored mandala on silk ( 絹本著色一字金輪曼荼羅図 Kinmoku chakushoku ichiji kinrin mandara -zu ) with the dimensions 107 × 83.8 cm from the Kamakura period .

photos

Niō Gate
Rei-do
Hakkaku-do
pagoda
Jigen-do
Treasure pagoda
Kannon, dying Buddha

Remarks

↑ 天竺 Tenjiku is the old word for India.

literature

Nara-ken kotogakko-kyoka token kenkyu-kyokai rekishi bukai (Ed.): Tsubosaka-dera . In: Nara-ken no rekishi sampo (ge). Yamakawa Shuppan, 2010. ISBN 978-4-634-24829-8 . Pp. 73, 74.

Web links

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

Website of the temple

34.426556 135.810278Coordinates: 34 ° 25 ′ 35.6 ″ N , 135 ° 48 ′ 37 ″ E

[1] 天竺 Tenjiku is the old word for India.