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Mii-dera Otsu Shiga Pref18n4200
, formally called , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the Jimon sect of Tendai, it is a sister temple to Enryaku-ji, at the top of the mountain, and is one of the four largest temples in Japan. Altogether, there are 40 named buildings in the Mii-dera complex. Mii-dera is temple 14 in the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. History Founding, and feuds Onjō-ji was founded in the Nara period. The temple was founded in 672 following a dispute over Imperial succession. Emperor Tenji had died, and his son was killed by Tenji's brother, who was then enthroned as Emperor Tenmu. Temmu founded Onjō-ji in honor and memory of his brother. The name ''Mii-dera'' ("Temple of Three Wells") came about nearly two centuries later. It was given this name by Enchin, one of the earliest abbots of the Tendai Sect. The name comes fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ōtsu
file:Otsu City Hall.JPG, 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ōtsu is located on the southern and southeastern shore of Lake Biwa and occupies most of the southeastern portion of Shiga Prefecture. The city is "L"-shaped and stretches along the southwest shore of Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. Ōtsu ranges from the densely populated alluvium depressions near the shore of Lake Biwa to sparsely populated hilly and mountainous areas to the west (Hira Mountains and Mount Hiei) and south of the city. Mount Hiei to the east forms the border of the city and Shiga Prefecture with Kyoto. Neighboring municipalities Shiga Prefecture *Kusatsu, Shiga, Kusatsu *Rittō, Shiga, Rittō *Kōka, Shiga , Kōka *Takashima, Shiga, Takashima Kyoto Prefecture *Kyoto *Uji, Kyoto, Uji * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Hiei
is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by Saichō in 788 and rapidly grew into a sprawling complex of temples and buildings that were roughly divided into three areas: # The area near the summit, and technically in Kyoto Prefecture. # The area, also near the summit, where Enryaku-ji Temple was first founded, and located just within Shiga Prefecture. # The area near the northernmost end of Mount Hiei. Due to its remoteness, as a temple complex it experienced periods of revival and decline, starting with Ennin, later revived by Ryōgen and made famous by the scholar-monk Genshin. Due to its position north-east of the ancient capital of Kyoto, it was thought in ancient geomancy practices to be a protective bulwark against negative influences on the capital, which along with the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tōdai-ji
is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergone several reconstructions since then, with the most significant reconstruction (that of the Great Buddha Hall) taking place in 1709. Its Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿 ''Daibutsuden'') houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as ''Daibutsu'' (大仏). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. History Origins The beginning of building a temple where the Kinshōsen-Ji complex sits today can be dated to 728 CE, when Emperor Shōmu e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Waters
Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. These organic bodies of water have attained religious significance not from the modern alteration or blessing, but were sanctified through mythological or historical figures. Sacred waters have been exploited for cleansing, healing, initiations, and death rites. Ubiquitous and perpetual fixations with water occur across religious traditions. It tends to be a central element in the creations accounts of almost every culture with mythological, cosmological, and theological myths. In this way, many groups characterize water as "living water", or the "water of life". This means that it gives life and is the fundamental element from which life arises. Each religious or cultural group that feature waters as sacred substances tends to favor cer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)
Main hall is the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple compound ('' garan'') which enshrines the main object of veneration.Kōjien Japanese dictionary Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English term translates several Japanese words, among them ''butsuden'', ''butsu-dō'', ''kondō'', ''konpon-chūdō'', and ''hondō''. ''Hondō'' is its exact Japanese equivalent, while the others are more specialized words used by particular sects or for edifices having a particular structure. Kondō (Asuka and Nara periods) The term started to be used during the Asuka and Nara periods. A ''kondō'' is the centerpiece of an ancient Buddhist temple's ''garan'' in Japan. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it may derive from the perceived preciousness of its content, or from the fact that the interior was lined with gold. This is the name used by the oldest temples in the country.Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten A ''kondō'', for example Hōryū-ji's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Jitō
was the 41st monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 持統天皇 (41)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were Suiko and Kōgyoku/ Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/ Shōtoku, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi. Traditional narrative Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenji. Her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother Emperor Tenmu, whom she succeeded on the throne.Varley, H. Paul. ''Jinnō Shōtōki,'' p. 137. Empress Jitō's given name was , or alternately Uno.Brown, D. (1979). ''Gukanshō'', p. 270. Events of Jitō's reign Jitō took responsibility for court administ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power". Imperial Household Law governs the line of Succession to the Japanese throne, imperial succession. The emperor is sovereign immunity, immune from prosecution by the Supreme Court of Japan. He is also the head of the Shinto religion. In Japanese language, Japanese, the emperor is called , literally "Emperor of heaven or "Heavenly Sovereign". The Japanese Shinto religion holds him to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu. The emperor is also the head of all national Orders, decorations, and medals of Japan, Japanese orders, decorations, medals, and awards. In English, the use of the term for the emperor was once common but is now considered obsolete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enchin
(814–891) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded of the Jimon school of Tendai Buddhism and Chief Abbot of Mii-dera at the foot of Mount Hiei. After succeeding to the post of Tendai , in 873, a strong rivalry developed between his followers and those of Ennin's at Enryaku-ji (note: Ennin had died in 864). The rivalry was largely geographical, and was not based much on sectarian differences over interpretations of practice or doctrine; nevertheless, the friction between the followers of the two ''zasu'' finally broke out into a violent conflict. Rivalres between the followers of different ''zasu'' were not anything new at that time. During his twelve years on Hiei, Enchin himself saw a conflict between direct disciples of Saichō (namely Enchō and Kōshō) and the disciples of his own master, the second Tendai ''zasu'' Gishin. After the death of Gishin, his main follower, Enshu, was elected as the third ''zasu'', but Enchō and Kōshō objected and finally forced Enshu and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Tenji
, also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')天智天皇 (38)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 52. Tenji's reign spanned the years from 661 through 672.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Traditional narrative He was the son of Emperor Jomei, but was preceded as ruler by his mother Empress Saimei. Prior to his accession, he was known as . Events of Tenji's life As prince, Naka no Ōe played a crucial role in ending the near-total control the Soga clan had over the imperial family. In 644, seeing the Soga continue to gain power, he conspired with Nakatomi no Kamatari and Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro to assassinate Soga no Iruka in what has come to be known as the Isshi Incident. Although the assassination did not go exactly as planned, Iruka was killed, and his father and predecessor, Soga no Emishi, committed suicide soon afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysanthemum Throne
The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions, such as those used in the Tokyo Imperial Palace or the throne used in the Speech from the Throne ceremony in the National Diet, are, however, not known as the "Chrysanthemum Throne". In a metonymic sense, the "Chrysanthemum Throne" also refers rhetorically to the head of state and the institution of the Japanese monarchy itself. History Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world. In much the same sense as the British Crown, the Chrysanthemum Throne is an abstract metonymic concept that represents the monarch and the legal authority for the existence of the government. Unlike its British counterpart, the concepts of Japanese monarchy evolved differently before 1947 when there was, for example, no perceived separati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nara Period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kanmu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784, before moving to Heian-kyō, modern Kyoto, a decade later in 794. Japanese society during this period was predominantly agricultural and centered on village life. Most of the villagers followed Shintō, a religion based on the worship of natural and ancestral spirits named ''kami.'' The capital at Nara was modeled after Chang'an, the capital city of the Tang dynasty. In many other ways, the Japanese upper classes patterned themselves after the Chinese, including adopting the Chinese writing system, Chinese fashion, and a Chinese version of Buddhism. Literature Concentrated efforts by the imperial court to record its history produced the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
The is a pilgrimage of thirty-three Buddhist temples throughout the Kansai region of Japan, similar to the Shikoku Pilgrimage. In addition to the official thirty-three temples, there are an additional three known as . The principal image in each temple is Kannon, known to Westerners as the Bodhisattva of Compassion (or sometimes mistranslated as 'Goddess of Mercy') ; however, there is some variation among the images and the powers they possess. It is traditional for pilgrims to wear white clothing and conical straw hats and to carry walking sticks. While the route was historically traveled by foot, today pilgrims usually use cars or trains. Pilgrims record their progress with a , which the temple staff mark with red stamps and Japanese calligraphy indicating the temple number, the temple name, and the specific name of the Kannon image. Some pilgrims receive the stamps and calligraphy on wall scrolls (for a decorative hanging) and on their white coats (to be cremated in) as well. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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