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Sūfuku-ji (Ōtsu)
250px, Site of the Kondō of Sūfuku-ji The is an archaeological site with the ruins of a late Asuka through Muromachi period Buddhist temple located in the Shigasato neighborhood of the city of Ōtsu Shiga Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1941, and some of the artifacts recovered from the site are collectively designated as a National Treasure. and some of the artifacts recovered from the site are collectively designated as a National Treasure. Overview Archaeological excavations indicate that the temple ruins are located on three ridges extending south from Mount Hiei. The north ridge contains the Miroku-do, a chapel dedicated to Maitreya. The middle ridge (also known as "Maruyama") contains the small Kondō and the south ridge has the main temple complex itself, including the foundations of the Kondō, Lecture Hall and Kyōzō (Sutra library). The site also encompasses the Hyakuana Kofun cluster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Tenchi
, 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 after. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maitreya
Maitreya () or Metteyya (), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the fifth and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be focused around re-establishing the dharma, a vital concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In all branches of Buddhism, Maitreya Buddha is viewed as the direct successor of Gautama Buddha. (In some Buddhist literature, such as the '' Amitabha Sutra'' and the '' Lotus Sutra'', he is referred to as Ajita). According to scriptures, Maitreya's teachings will be similar to those of Gautama Buddha (also known as Śākyamuni Buddha). Horner (1975), ''The minor anthologies of the Pali canon'', p. 97. Regarding Metteyya, Bv XXVII, 19: "I autama Buddhaat the present time am the Self-Awakened One, and there will be Metteyya...." The arrival of Maitreya is prophesied to occur during an era when the teachings of Gautama Buddha have been disregarded or largely f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Kōgyoku
, also known as , was the 35th and 37th monarch of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (37)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Kōgyoku's reign spanned the years from 642 to 645. Her reign as Saimei encompassed 655 to 661. In other words, * 642: She ascended the throne as Kōgyoku''-tennō'', and she stepped down in response to the assassination of Soga no Iruka (see: Isshi incident). * 645: She abdicated in favor of her brother, who would become known as Emperor Kōtoku. * 654: Kōtoku died and the throne was vacant. * 655: She re-ascended, beginning a new reign as Saimei''-tennō''. * 661: Saimei ruled until her death caused the throne to be vacant again. The two reigns of this one woman spanned the years from 642 through 661. In the history of Japan, Kōgyoku/Saimei was the second of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The sole female monarch before Kōgyoku/Saimei was Suiko''-tennō''. The six female sovereigns reigning after Kōgyoku/Saimei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Jomei
was the 34th emperor of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (34)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Jomei's reign spanned the years from 629 through 641. Traditional narrative Before Jomei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (''imina'') was or . As emperor, his name would have been ''Okinagatarashihi Hironuka Sumeramikoto'' (息長足日広額天皇). He was a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu, both paternally and maternally. His father was Prince Oshisakanohikohito-no-Ōe, his mother was Princess Nukate-hime, who was a younger sister of his father. Events in Jomei's reign He succeeded his great aunt, Empress Suiko. Suiko did not make it clear who was to succeed her after her death. Before her death, she called Tamura and Prince Shōtoku's son, Prince Yamashiro-no-Ōe, and gave some brief advice to each of them. After her death the court was divided into two factions, each supporting one of the princes for the throne. Soga no Emishi, the head ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequently-derived syllabic scripts of ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. The characters have Japanese pronunciation, pronunciations; most have two, with one based on the Chinese sound. A few characters were invented in Japan by constructing character components derived from other Chinese characters. After World War II, Japan made its own efforts to simplify the characters, now known as shinjitai, by a process similar to China's simplified Chinese characters, simplification efforts, with the intention to increase literacy among the common folk. Since the 1920s, the Japanese government has published character lists periodically to help direct the education of its citizenry through the myriad Chinese characte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Two types of Japanese script emerged, including katakana, a phonetic script which was abbreviated into hiragana, a cursive alphabet with a unique writing method distinctive to Japan. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court women who were not as educated in Chinese compared to their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Kanmu
, or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scope of the emperor's powers reached its peak. Traditional narrative Kanmu's personal name (''imina'') was .Brown, p. 277 He was the eldest son of Prince Shirakabe (later known as ), and was born prior to Shirakabe's ascension to the throne. According to the , Yamabe's mother, Yamato no Niigasa (later called |
Japanese Pagoda
Multi-storied pagodas in wood and stone, and a ''gorintō'' Pagodas in Japan are called , sometimes or and historically derive from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian ''stupa''. Like the ''stupa'', pagodas were originally used as reliquaries but in many cases they ended up losing this function. Pagodas are quintessentially Buddhist and an important component of Japanese Buddhist temple compounds but, because until the Kami and Buddhas Separation Act of 1868, a Shinto shrine was normally also a Buddhist temple and vice versa, they are not rare at shrines either. The famous Itsukushima Shrine, for example, has one. After the Meiji Restoration the word ''tō'', once used exclusively in a religious context, came to mean also "tower" in the western sense, as for example in . Of the Japanese pagoda's many forms, some are built in wood and are collectively known as , but most are carved out of stone (. Wood pagodas are large buildings with either two stor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minamishigachō Temple Ruins
The is an archaeological site with the ruins of an Asuka period Buddhist temple located in the Minamishiga neighborhood of the city of Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1957. Overview The Minamishigachō temple site consists of some traces of building foundations arranged in a format similar to Kawara-dera in Asuka, Nara. Although much of then site is covered by modern buildings, archaeological excavations indicate that it covered an area 310 meters square. The temple had a pagoda in the east and a small Kondō in the west, with a main Kondō and a Lecture Hall in a line to the north. The Kondō and Middle Gate were connected with a cloister which formed a courtyard surrounding the pagoda and small Kondō, where as the Lecture Hall was also in the middle of a courtyard surrounded on three sides by monk's quarters. The roof tiles found are slightly larger than though found at Kawara-dera, but have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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