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Tōrō
are a type of traditional East Asian lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Originating in China, stone lanterns spread to Japan, Korea and Vietnam, though they are most commonly found in both China – extant in Buddhist temples and traditional Chinese gardens – and Japan. In Japan, were originally used only in Buddhist temples, where they lined and illuminated paths. Lit lanterns were then considered an offering to Buddha. Their use in Shinto shrines and also private homes started during the Heian period (794–1185). Stone lanterns have been known in China as early as the Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), and prevailed from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties all the way up to the Tang Dynasty, when they were introduced to Japan. The oldest extant bronze and stone lanterns in Japan can be found in Nara. Taima-dera has a stone lantern built during the Nara period, while Kasuga-taisha has one of the following Heian period. During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568 ...
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Tōrō
are a type of traditional East Asian lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Originating in China, stone lanterns spread to Japan, Korea and Vietnam, though they are most commonly found in both China – extant in Buddhist temples and traditional Chinese gardens – and Japan. In Japan, were originally used only in Buddhist temples, where they lined and illuminated paths. Lit lanterns were then considered an offering to Buddha. Their use in Shinto shrines and also private homes started during the Heian period (794–1185). Stone lanterns have been known in China as early as the Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), and prevailed from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties all the way up to the Tang Dynasty, when they were introduced to Japan. The oldest extant bronze and stone lanterns in Japan can be found in Nara. Taima-dera has a stone lantern built during the Nara period, while Kasuga-taisha has one of the following Heian period. During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568 ...
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Shinto Shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meaning: "main hall") is where a shrine's patron ''kami'' is/are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dictionary The ''honden'' may be absent in cases where a shrine stands on or near a sacred mountain, tree, or other object which can be worshipped directly or in cases where a shrine possesses either an altar-like structure, called a ''himorogi,'' or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a ''yorishiro,'' which can also serve as direct bonds to a ''kami''. There may be a and other structures as well. Although only one word ("shrine") is used in English, in Japanese, Shinto shrines may carry any one of many different, non-equivalent names like ''gongen'', ''-gū'', ''jinja'', ''jingū'', ''mori'', ''myōjin'', ''-sha'', ''taisha ...
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Sandō
A in Japanese architecture is the road approaching either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple.Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version. Its point of origin is usually straddled in the first case by a Shinto ''torii'', in the second by a Buddhist ''sanmon'', gates which mark the beginning of the shrine's or temple territory. The word can refer both to a path or road, and to the path of one's life's efforts.See, Karatedo. c.f. Taoism 道 There can also be stone lanterns and other decorations at any point along its course. A ''sandō'' can be called a , if it is the main entrance, or a if it is a secondary point of entrance, especially to the rear; are also sometimes found. The famous Omotesandō district in Tokyo, for example, takes its name from the nearby main access path to Meiji Shrine where an ''ura-sandō'' also used to exist. Gallery File:Ebaraji sanmon.jpg, A Buddhist ''sandō'' File:Sada shrine Sandou.jpg, A ''sandō'' in Osaka File:Taroubou ...
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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 ...
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Gorintō
("five-ringed tower") is a Japanese type of Buddhist pagoda believed to have been first adopted by the Shingon and Tendai sects during the mid Heian period. It is used for memorial or funerary purposesKōjien Japanese Dictionary and is therefore common in Buddhist temples and cemeteries. It is also called ("five-ringed stupa") or , where the term ''sotoba'' is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word stupa. The stupa was originally a structure or other sacred building containing a relic of Buddha or of a saint, then it was gradually stylized in various ways and its shape can change quite a bit according to the era and to the country where it is found.Home Study Course on Basic Buddhism Often offertory strips of wood with five subdivisions and covered with elaborate inscriptions also called ''sotoba'' can be found at tombs in Japanese cemeteries (see photo below). The inscriptions contain sūtra and the posthumous name of the dead person. These can be considered stupa variants. St ...
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Pagoda
A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, and were often located in or near viharas. The pagoda traces its origins to the stupa of ancient India. Chinese pagodas () are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been praised for the spectacular views they offer, and many classical poems attest to the joy of scaling pagodas. Chinese sources credit the Nepalese architect Araniko with introducing the pagoda to China. The oldest and tallest pagodas were built of wood, but most that survived were built of brick or stone. Some pagodas are solid with no interior. Hollow pagodas have no higher floors or rooms, but the interior often contains an altar or a smaller pagoda, as well as a series of staircases for the vis ...
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Five Elements (Japanese Philosophy)
Godai are the five elements in Japanese Buddhist thought of earth (''chi''), water (''sui''), fire (''ka''), wind (''fu''), and void (''ku''). The concept is related to Buddhist Mahābhūta and came over China from India. The Japanese Buddhist concept of '' gogyo,'' which stems from Chinese '' wuxing,'' is distinguishable from ''godai'' by the fact that the functional phases of wood and metal within ''gogyo'' are replaced by the formative elements of void and the wind (air) in ''godai''. ''Godai'' is attributed to esoteric Japanese Buddhism during the eleventh century CE in relation to the idea of ''gorin'' (the "five wheels" or the "five rings"). ''Godai'' and ''gorin'' are also seen within the practice of ''ninjutsu'', where these principles became an essential aspect of the esoteric ninja teachings (the '' ninpo-mikkyo''); whereas the theory of ''gogyo'' moved into the functional theory of traditional Japanese medicine and exoteric Buddhism. The elements The ''godai'' is ...
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Tanzan Jinja01s3200
Hara Tanzan (原坦山, December 5, 1819 – July 27, 1892) was a Japanese philosopher and Sōtō Buddhist monk. He served as abbot of Saijoji temple in Odawara and as professor at the University of Tokyo during the Bakumatsu and Meiji era. He was a forerunner of the modernization of Japanese Buddhism and the first (in Japan) to attempt to incorporate concepts from the natural sciences into Zen Buddhism. Life Hara was born in Iwakitaira Domain, Mutsu Province (present-day Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture), the eldest son of samurai Arai Yūsuke. At the age of 15, Hara enrolled at the Shoheizaka Academy (昌平坂学問所) where he studied both Confucianism and medicine, the latter under Taki Genken. At the age of 20 or 26, he entered Buddhist priesthood, though he would go on to study Western medicine later in life. Hara became the first lecturer of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies at Tokyo Imperial University in 1879. He was later superintendent of the Soto-shu Daig ...
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Cultural Properties Of Japan
A is administered by the Government of Japan, Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and includes Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, tangible properties (structures and works of art or craft); Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan, intangible properties (performing arts and craft techniques); Mingei, folk properties both tangible and intangible; Monuments of Japan, monuments historic, scenic and natural; Cultural Landscapes of Japan, cultural landscapes; and Groups of Traditional Buildings, groups of traditional buildings. Cultural Properties of Japan#Buried Cultural Properties, Buried properties and Conservation Techniques for Cultural Properties, conservation techniques are also protected. Together these cultural properties are to be preserved and utilized as the heritage of the Japanese people. Not all Cultural Properties of Japan were created in Japan; some are from China, Korea or other countri ...
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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 ...
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Kōfuku-ji
is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 by Kagami-no-Ōkimi (), the wife of Fujiwara no Kamatari, wishing for her husband’s recovery from illness. Its original site was in Yamashina, Yamashiro Province (present-day Kyoto). In 672, the temple was moved to Fujiwara-kyō, the first planned Japanese capital to copy the orthogonal grid pattern of Chang'an. In 710, the temple was dismantled for the second time and moved to its present location, on the east side of the newly constructed capital, Heijō-kyō, today's Nara. Kōfuku-ji was the Fujiwara's tutelary temple, and enjoyed prosperity for as long as the family did. The temple was not only an important center for the Buddhist religion, but also retained influence over the imperial government, and even by "aggressive means" in ...
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