Hokki-ji
Encyclopedia
Ikaruga, Nara
is a town located in Ikoma District, Nara, Japan.Ikaruga is home to Hōryū-ji and Hokki-ji, ancient Buddhist temples collectively inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage. Other ancient temples include Hōrin-ji, also in the vicinity of Hōryū-ji....
, Nara
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The temple's honorary sangō prefix is , although it is rarely used. The temple was constructed to honor Avalokitesvara
Avalokitesvara
Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....
, and an 11-faced statue of the goddess is the primary object of worship in the temple. Hokki-ji is often considered to be one of the seven great temples founded by Prince Shōtoku
Prince Shotoku
, also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was a son of Emperor Yōmei and his younger half-sister Princess Anahobe no Hashihito. His parents were relatives of the ruling Soga clan, and was involved in the defeat...
, however, the temple was not completed until some decades after his death. In 1993, it was registered as a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
as one of the Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area
Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area
The UNESCO World Heritage Site Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area includes a variety of buildings found in Hōryū-ji and Hokki-ji in Nara Prefecture, Japan. They were designated in 1993 along with the surrounding landscape, under several criteria. The structures inscribed are some of the...
.
History
Hokki-ji is located in Ikaruga—a town that has long been a focal point of Japanese Buddhism—and the area contains numerous other old temples related to Prince Shotoku, such as Hōrin-jiHorin-ji (Nara)
, or is a Buddhist temple in Mii, Ikaruga, Nara, Japan. The temple's honorary sangō prefix is . The temple is located about a kilometer north of Hōryū-ji's Tō-in...
and Chūgū-ji
Chūgū-ji
is a temple in Nara Prefecture, Japan, that was founded as a nunnery in the seventh century by Shōtoku Taishi. Located immediately to the northeast of Hōryū-ji, its statue of Miroku and Tenjukoku mandala are National Treasures.-History:...
. Hokki-ji is located in a foothill to the northeast of Hōryū-ji Tō-in. It is said that the temple lies atop the ruins of palace, wherein Prince Shōtoku had lectured on the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
, and that according to the prince's last will and testament, his son, Prince Yamashiro
Prince Yamashiro
was the eldest son of one of the most famous figures in Japanese history, Prince Shōtoku. Yamashiro claimed the right to Imperial succession in 628, following the death of Empress Suiko...
(Yamashiro no Ōe no ō) rebuilt the former palace as a temple. Excavation conducted around the temple grounds has revealed the remains of a building whose pillars were in direct contact with the earth (i.e. there was no foundation stone), confirming that another building had occupied the grounds prior to Hokki-ji. The temple is laid out such that the main hall and the pagoda are aligned along the east-west axis, similar to the layout of Hōryū-ji Sai-in. However, Hokki-ji's main hall is in the west, and the tower is in the east; the opposite of Hōryū-ji Sai-in. This kind of temple layout has come to be known as "Hokki-ji Style".
Cultural Value
The only original building remaining is the 24m-high three-storied pagoda, which is the oldest of its kind in Japan, and a National TreasureNational treasures of Japan
National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...
. The lecture hall is a 1694 reconstruction, and Shōten-do hall is an 1863 reconstruction.
The shrine contains a wooden 3.5m-tall 11-faced statue of Avalokitesvara
Avalokitesvara
Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....
that was constructed in the latter half of the 10th century. A copper image of a bodhissatva constructed in the latter half of the seventh century is currently entrusted to the Nara National Museum
Nara National Museum
The is one of the pre-eminent national art museums in Japan.-Introduction:The Nara National Museum is located in Nara, which was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. Katayama Tōkuma designed the original building, which is a representative Western-style building of the Meiji period and has been...
. Both of these items have been designated Important Cultural Properties
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....
.
See also
- List of National Treasures of Japan (temples)
- For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese BuddhismGlossary of Japanese BuddhismThis is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries...
.