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Kaikōzan Hase-dera
, commonly called the is one of the Buddhist temples in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, famous for housing a massive wooden statue of Kannon. The temple originally belonged to the Tendai sect of Buddhism, but eventually became an independent temple of the Jōdo-shū.English language pamphlet from Kaikozan Hasedera History Legend has it that the temple was established in the Tenpyō era (729-749 C.E.). However, documents at the temple suggest that the temple really came into its own during the Kamakura period (1192-1333). Statue The main statue of Kannon is one of the largest wooden statues in Japan, with a height of It is made from camphor wood, with gold gilding. It has 11 heads, each of which represents a different phase in the search for enlightenment. According to legend, the statue is one of two images of Kannon carved by a monk named Tokudō in 721. The camphor tree was so large, according to legend, that he decided that he could carve two statues ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sakurai, Nara
is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 58,386, and 24,629 households. The population density is , and the total area is . History Sakurai was briefly the capital of Japan during the reign of Emperor Yūryaku. The life of the Imperial court was centered at ''Hatsuse no Asakura'' Palace where the emperor lived in 457–479.Koch, W. (1904) ''Japan; Geschichte nach japanischen Quellen und ethnographische Skizzen. Mit einem Stammbaum des Kaisers von Japan,'' p. 13 Other emperors also built palaces in the area, including * ''Iware no Mikakuri'' Palace, 480–484 in reign of Emperor Seinei * ''Nimiki'' Palace, 499–506 in reign of Emperor Buretsu * ''Iware no Tamaho'' Palace, 526–532 in reign of Emperor Keitai * ''Hinokuma no Iorino'' Palace, 535-539 in reign of Emperor Senka * ''Osata no Sakitama'' Palace or ''Osada no Miya'', 572–585 in reign of Emperor BidatsuPonsonby-Fane, p. 18. The modern city was found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuigahama
is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is legally the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which separates it from Kotsubo and the Miura Peninsula, the name is customarily used to indicate the portion west of the Namerigawa river, while the eastern half is called .Kamakura's Official Textbook for Culture and Tourism (2008:33) This is the reason why, although the beach gives its name to only the west part of the beachside community, traces of the name Yuigahama can be found also in Zaimokuza (for example in Moto Hachiman's official name, Yui Wakamiya). The center of Yuigahama came legally into being between 1964 and 1965 and was named after the beach. Today's Yuigahama was until then divided between Zaimokuza, Ōmachi, and Hase. There are different theories about the origin of the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagami Bay
lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the island of Izu Ōshima marks the southern extent of the bay. It lies approximately southwest of the capital, Tokyo. Cities on the bay include Odawara, Chigasaki, Fujisawa, Hiratsuka, Itō, and Kamakura. History The center of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. It devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. The shallow nature of the seabed on the north of the bay, and the funnelling effect of tsunami and typhoon wave energy, contributed to certain parts of the Shonan coast having suffered considerable damage, including the destruction of the Kōtoku-in temple hou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inari Ōkami
, also called , is the Japanese ''kami'' of foxes, fertility, rice, tea and sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success, and one of the principal kami of Shinto. In earlier Japan, Inari was also the patron of swordsmiths and merchants. Represented as male, female, or androgynous, Inari is sometimes seen as a collective of three or five individual ''kami''. Inari appears to have been worshipped since the founding of a shrine at Inari Mountain in 711 AD, although some scholars believe that worship started in the late 5th century. By the 16th century, Inari had become the patron of blacksmiths and the protector of warriors, and worship of Inari spread across Japan in the Edo period. Inari is a popular figure in both Shinto and Buddhist beliefs in Japan. More than one-third (32,000) of the Shinto shrines in Japan are dedicated to Inari. Modern corporations, such as cosmetic company Shiseido, continue to revere Inari as a patron kami, with shrines at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belfry (architecture)
The belfry is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached to a city hall or other civic building. A belfry encloses the bell chamber, the room in which the bells are housed; its walls are pierced by openings which allow the sound to escape. The openings may be left uncovered but are commonly filled with louvers to prevent rain and snow from entering and damaging the bells. There may be a separate room below the bell chamber to house the ringers. Etymology The word ''belfry'' comes from the Old North French or , meaning 'movable wooden siege tower'. The Old French word itself is derived from Middle High German , 'protecting shelter' (cf. the cognate ''bergfried''), combining the Proto-Germanic , 'to protect', or , 'mountain, high place', with , 'peace; personal security', to create , lit. 'high place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shōrō
The two main types of bell tower in Japan The or is the bell tower of a Buddhist temple in Japan, housing the temple's . It can also be found at some Shinto shrines which used to function as temples (see article '' Shinbutsu shūgō''), as for example Nikkō Tōshō-gū. Two main types exist, the older , which has walls, and the more recent or , which does not. History During the Nara period (710–794), immediately after the arrival of Buddhism in Japan bell towers were 3 x 2 bay, 2 storied buildings. A typical temple '' garan'' had normally two, one to the left and one to the right of the ''kyōzō'' (or ''kyō-dō''), the sūtra repository. An extant example of this style is Hōryū-ji's Sai-in Shōrō in Nara (see photo in the gallery). During the following Heian period (794–1185) was developed a new style called ''hakamagoshi'' which consisted of a two storied, hourglass-shaped building with the bell hanging from the second story. The earliest extant example is H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amitābha
Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awareness of emptiness for each phenomenon. According to a Pure Land Buddhist scripture, he possesses infinite merit that results from good deeds over countless past lives as Dharmākara. Doctrine Attainment of Buddhahood According to the '' Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life'', Amitābha was, in very ancient times and possibly in another system of worlds, a monk named Dharmākara. In some versions of the sūtra, Dharmākara is described as a former king who, having come into contact with Buddhist teachings through the buddha Lokeśvararāja, renounced his throne. He then resolved to become a Buddha and to create a ' (literally "buddha-field", often called a "Pureland" or "Buddha Land": a realm existing in the primordial universe outside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanmon
A , also called , is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen ''shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other denominations too. Most ''sanmon'' are 2- or 3- bay ''nijūmon'' (a type of two-storied gate), but the name by itself does not imply any specific architecture. Position, function and structure Its importance notwithstanding, the ''sanmon'' is not the first gate of the temple, and in fact it usually stands between the '' sōmon'' (outer gate) and the ''butsuden'' (lit. "Hall of Buddha", i.e. the main hall). It used to be connected to a portico-like structure called , which however gradually disappeared during the Muromachi period, being replaced by the , a small building present on both sides of the gate and containing a stairway to the gate's second story. (Both ''sanrō'' are clearly visible in Tōfuku-ji's photo above.) The ''sanmon's'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kantō Region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slightly more than 45 percent of the land area within its boundaries is the Kanto Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form land borders with other regions of Japan. As the Kanto region contains Tokyo, the capital and largest city of Japan, the region is considered the center of Japan's politics and economy. According to the official census on October 1, 2010, by the Japan Statistics Bureau, the population was 42,607,376, amounting to approximately one third of the total population of Japan. Other definitions The Kantō regional governors' association (関東地方知事会, ''Kantō chihō chijikai'') assembles the prefectural governors of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bandō Sanjūsankasho
The ("The Bandō 33 Kannon Pilgrimage") is a series of 33 Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan sacred to Goddess Kannon. Bandō is the old name for what is now the Kantō region,Donald Richie used in this case because the temples are all in the Prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, Tokyo, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Chiba. As is the case with all such circuits, each location has a rank, and pilgrims believe that visiting them all in order is an act of great religious merit. Started by Minamoto no Yoritomo and his son Sanetomo, the Bandō Sanjūsankasho is just one of 70 different Kannon pilgrimage circuits existing in Japan, each including 33 temples because the Goddess is believed to have 33 different manifestations. Sugimoto-dera in Kamakura is number one, Zushi's Gandenji's is number two, An'yō-in in Kamakura is the number three, the famous Hasedera in Hase number four, and so on. From its beginning at Sugimotodera to its end in Chiba's Nagodera, the circuit is over 1300 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hase-dera Jizō
is the main temple of the Buzan sect of Shingon Buddhism. The temple is located in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Main Hall is a National Treasure of Japan. Overview According to the description on , which is enshrined at Hase-dera, the temple was first built in 686 and dedicated to Emperor Tenmu, who was suffering from a disease. Later, in the year 727, the temple was expanded by order of Emperor Shōmu and a statue of the eleven-faced Kannon was placed near the original temple that enshrined the bronze plaque. The temple has been burned down and rebuilt as many as ten times since the 10th century. During the Heian period the temple was favored by members of the nobility, such as the authors of the ''Kagerō Nikki'' and the '' Sarashina Nikki''. Hase-dera was consistently popular with visitors, helped by the fact it was situated on what was then the route to the Ise Shrine. Later still, Hase-dera flourished as one of the centers of the reformed Shingon Buddhism, part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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