Jingo-ji
Encyclopedia
is a Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 temple in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

. It stands on Mount Takao to the northwest of the center of the city. The temple adheres to Shingon Buddhism. Its honzon
Gohonzon
Gohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...

is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai
Bhaisajyaguru
Bhaiṣajyaguru , formally Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharāja , is the buddha of healing and medicine in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Commonly referred to as the "Medicine Buddha", he is described as a doctor who cures suffering using the medicine of his teachings.-Origin:...

, the Buddha of Healing or "Medicine Buddha".

The temple was established in the year 824, as a merger of two private temples founded earlier by Wake no Kiyomaro
Wake no Kiyomaro
was a high-ranking Japanese official during the Nara period. He was born in Bizen Province to a family of politically important, devoted Buddhists who hoped to keep Buddhism and politics separate through religious reform...

. They were the Jingan-ji (神願寺) in Kiyomaro's home province and the Takaosan-ji (高雄山寺).

Jingo-ji holds sixteen National Treasures of Japan
National 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...

. They include the honzon and other statues. Another treasure is a list written by Kukai
Kukai
Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

 in 812 called the and displays some of Kukai's talent for calligraphy. This list contains people and deities in 812 who underwent the Abhiseka ritual at Takaosan-ji, presided by Kukai.

Buildings at Jingo-ji have been destroyed by fire and war. Of the original buildings, only the Daishi-dō survived the Ōnin War
Onin War
The ' was a civil war that lasted 10 years during the Muromachi period in Japan. A dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen escalated into a nationwide war involving the Ashikaga shogunate and a number of daimyo in many regions of Japan....

; even the present Daishi-dō is of uncertain date. Itakura Katsushige
Itakura Katsushige
was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period to early Edo period. He fought at the side of Ieyasu Tokugawa at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.Katsuhige's daimyō family claimed descent from the Shibukawa branch of the Seiwa-Genji...

, a daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 and former Kyoto shoshidai
Kyoto Shoshidai
The was an important administrative and political office in the early modern government of Japan. However, the significance and effectiveness of the office is credited to the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, who developed these initial creations as bureaucratic elements in a consistent and...

 in the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, commissioned a major reconstruction in 1623. Another reconstruction took place in the 1930s with a contribution from Gendō Yamaguchi. Present structures include the following:
  • Rōmon
    Rōmon
    The is one of two types of two-storied gate presently used in Japan . Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Its otherwise normal upper story is inaccessible and therefore offers no usable space...

     (1623)
  • Kondō
    Kondo
    Kondō is a Japanese surname, and is sometimes used in other contexts.People named Kondo:* Koji Kondo, musician, composer* Dorinne K...

     (金堂, 1934), housing the central image of Yakushi Nyorai
    Bhaisajyaguru
    Bhaiṣajyaguru , formally Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharāja , is the buddha of healing and medicine in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Commonly referred to as the "Medicine Buddha", he is described as a doctor who cures suffering using the medicine of his teachings.-Origin:...

    , the Buddha of Healing.
  • Bishamon-dō (1623)
  • Godai-dō (五大堂, 1623), housing statues of Fudō Myōō
    Acala
    In Vajrayana Buddhism, Ācala is the best known of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. He is also known as Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, Ācala-vidyā-rāja and . The Sanskrit term ācala means "immovable"; Ācala is also the name of the eighth of the ten completion stages of the Bodhisattva path...

     and other wrathful deities.
  • Bell tower (1623)
  • Daishi-dō (大師堂, date unrecorded)
  • Tahōtō
    Tahōtō
    A is a form of Japanese pagoda found primarily at Esoteric Shingon and Tendai school Buddhist temples. It is unique among pagodas because it has an even number of stories...

     (1934)


The temple is located above the , and has a special built on the grounds. Visitors can purchase tiny plates made of clay to throw out from the famous cliffs, the , overlooking Kiyotaki River, with the hopes of one's plate hitting the river far below.

Buses from the center of the city arrive at a stop alongside the road. A long set of stairs leads down to the river, and a short bridge leads across it. A similar set of stairs leads up to the gate of the temple.

See also

- Jingo-ji
Jingo-ji
is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It stands on Mount Takao to the northwest of the center of the city. The temple adheres to Shingon Buddhism. Its honzon is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing or "Medicine Buddha"....

, Kōzan-ji
Kozan-ji
, or , is an Omuro Buddhist temple located in Ume-ga-hata Toganoo-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by famous monk Myōe and is renowned for its numerous national treasures and important cultural properties, in particular the famous picture scroll called Chōjū-giga. The temple...

 and Saimyō-ji

Sources

This article incorporates material translated from 神護寺 (Jingo-ji) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on December 28, 2008. Other information obtained by Japanese documentary .
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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