The Byodo-In Temple ( ja, 平等院テンプル, ''Byōdōin Tenpuru'') is a non-denominational
Buddhist temple located on the island of
Oahu
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
in
Valley of the Temples Memorial Park
Valley of the Temples Memorial Park is a memorial park located on the windward (eastern) side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu at the foot of the Koolau mountains, near the town of Kāneohe. Thousands of Buddhist, Shinto, Protestant and Cathol ...
. It was dedicated in August 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first
Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.
The temple is a replica of a
900-year-old Buddhist temple at
Uji
is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa. ...
in
Kyoto Prefecture of
Japan.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not a functioning Buddhist temple in the proper sense as it does not host a resident monastic community nor an active congregation. Inside the Byodo-In Temple is a statue of the Lotus Buddha, a wooden
image depicting
Amitābha.
It is covered in
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
and
lacquer. Outside is a three-ton, brass peace bell.
Surrounding the temple are large
koi
or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens.
Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...
ponds that cover a total of . Around those ponds are lush Japanese gardens set against a backdrop of towering cliffs of the
Koʻolau Range
Koolau Range is a name given to the dormant fragmented remnant of the eastern or windward shield volcano of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972.
Geology
It is not a mountain range in the normal ...
. The gardens are home to
sparrows and
peafowl
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...
. The temple covers .
The Byodo-In Temple is visited and used by thousands of worshipers from around the world. It welcomes people of all faiths to participate in its traditions. Apart from worship, the temple grounds are also used for weddings and office meetings.
Ancient Japan
Byodo-In Temple is a smaller-scale replica of the
Byōdō-in
is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, built in the late Heian period. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects.
History
This temple was originally built in 998 in the He ...
, a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
near the ancient city of
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
, originally a monastery founded by
Fujiwara no Yorimichi
(992–1071) was a Japanese court noble. He succeeded his father Michinaga to the position of Sesshō in 1017, and then went on to become Kampaku from 1020 until 1068. In both these positions, he acted as Regent to the Emperor, as many of his ...
in 1052 of the
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 was famous for its
Vairocana
Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...
statue. The statue was lost and replaced in 1053 with a large wooden statue of
Amitābha, a national treasure carved by the Japanese artisan
Jōchō
Jōchō (定朝; died 1057 AD), also known as Jōchō Busshi, was a Japanese sculptor of the Heian period. He popularized the '' yosegi'' technique of sculpting a single figure out of many pieces of wood, and he redefined the canon of body propo ...
.
The Amitābha statue stands in the midst of the , an artistic reproduction of
Sukhavati
Sukhavati (IAST: ''Sukhāvatī''; "Blissful") is a pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. It is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land, and is the most well-known of Buddhist pure lands, due to the popularity of Pure Land Budd ...
, the
pure land of Amitābha. It is called the "Phoenix Hall" in English in reference to the two
fenghuang
''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...
birds stretching their wings upon the temple roof. Fifty two wooden images of
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
s surround Amitābha, dancing and playing musical instruments on floating clouds.
From 2001 to 2007, the temple underwent restoration in the spirit of preservation of Japan's ancient heritage.
Modern Hawaii
Byodo-In Temple was commissioned and built largely by concrete (the original is wooden without the use of nails) in 1968 at its present location in the Valley of the Temples to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the arrival of Japanese culture to Hawaii.
It was dedicated by Governor
John A. Burns
John Anthony Burns (March 30, 1909 – April 5, 1975) was an American politician. Burns was born in Montana and became a resident of Hawaii in 1913. He served as the second governor of Hawaii from 1962 to 1974.
Early life
John Burns was ...
, a favorite of the Japanese community for his long service for the cause of Japanese rights during the state's territorial years. Japanese immigrants entered the
Kingdom of Hawaii and later
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
to labor in the sugarcane and pineapple plantations. They joined the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
,
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
,
native Hawaiians and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
.
Valley of the Temples Memorial Park
![Chapel at Valley of the Temples, Oahu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Chapel_at_Valley_of_the_Temples%2C_Oahu.png)
The Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, where the Byodo-in Temple is located, also contains large
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
statues depicting the
Passion of Christ
In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ.
Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...
, the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, various Catholic saints,
crypts
A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chu ...
and
mausoleums
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consi ...
of some of the most influential people in Hawaiʻi. Most notable of those interred at the mausoleums of the Valley of the Temples is
Walter F. Dillingham, Hawaii entrepreneur and statesman. For a time, former
Philippine President
The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
Ferdinand E. Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
was interred at a private mausoleum overlooking the Byodo-In temple.
Thousands of
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
,
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
residents of Hawaii are buried in this memorial park. It was founded by
Paul Trousdale in 1963.
In popular culture
The TV series ''
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to:
* ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series
* ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...
'' and ''
Magnum, P.I.
''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...
'' featured several episodes where the temple is incorporated into the plot. The temple and its vicinity also served as a stand-in for
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
in one episode of the
ABC series ''
Lost'' and as the Presidential Villa in an episode of ''
seaQuest DSV''.
The temple was also used in the 2001 movie ''
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
'' as a replica of the Byodo-In Temple in Japan as well as several other movies.
Gallery
Image:Byodo-In_Temple_(14).JPG, A woman rings the peace bell prior to entering.
Image:Byodo-In Temple (3).JPG, Byodo-In Temple as seen from the entrance bridge.
Image:Byodo-In Temple (13).JPG, Mist-capped mountains loom above the temple.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Byodo-In Temple, Oahu
Temple websiteThree-dimensional rendering of Byodo-In(without plugin; in English, Spanish, German)
1968 in the United States
Buddhist temples in Hawaii
Hawaiian architecture
Japanese-American culture in Hawaii
Japanese gardens in the United States
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1968
Religious buildings and structures in Honolulu County, Hawaii
20th-century Buddhist temples