Chōgaku-ji ( ja, 長岳寺, links=no) is a
Japanese Buddhist temple of the
Kōyasan Shingon-shū
is a Japanese sect of Shingon Buddhism. Headquartered on Mount Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture, it is also the oldest and largest of the eighteen Shingon sects in Japan. The main temple is Kongōbu-ji
is the ecclesiastic head temple of Koyasan ...
sect in the city of
Tenri in
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama P ...
, Japan.
It is located within
Yamato-Aogaki Quasi-National Park along the ''Yamanobe no michi'' ( ja, 山辺の道, links=no), the oldest road in Japan,
at the foot of Mt. Ryūō in the
Sanuki Mountains.
The temple is the fourth of the
thirteen Buddhist sites of Yamato,
and the nineteenth of the
twenty-five Kansai flower temples The twenty-five Kansai flower temples ( ja, 関西花の寺二十五カ所, links=no) or twenty-five sacred Kansai flower temples ( ja, 関西花の寺二十五霊場, links=no) are a multi-sect association of twenty-five Japanese Buddhist temples ...
.
History
Chōgaku-ji was built by
Kūkai in 824.
The temple's bell tower gate (''
rōmon
The is one of two types of two-storied gate used in Japan (the other one being the ''nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shin ...
'') is the oldest in Japan.
The gate was originally built in 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. ...
when the temple was founded, and is the only building that remains of the originals at Chōgaku-ji.
The upper portion of the gate was rebuilt between 1086–1184, and the lower portion was rebuilt between 1573–1614. The gate is in a
Kibitsu-zukuri
, or is a traditional Japanese Shinto architectural style characterized by four dormer gables, two per lateral side, on the roof of a very large '' honden'' (sanctuary). The gables are set at a right angle to the main roof ridge, and the ''h ...
-style with a thin
wood shingle
Wood shingles are thin, tapered pieces of wood primarily used to cover roof shingle, roofs and walls of buildings to protect them from the weather. Historically roof shingle, shingles, also known as shakes, were split from straight grained, kno ...
roof.
Cultural artifacts
Chōgaku-ji has four structures and five statues that have been designated as
national important cultural properties. The bell tower gate was designated a national important cultural property in 1907.
Jizō-in is a ''
dō Dō may refer to:
* Dō (architecture)
* Dō (armour)
* Dō (martial arts)
* Dō (philosophy)
''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, ...
'' ( ja, 堂, lit=hall, links=no) that was built in 1631, and was designated a national important cultural property in 1969.
Behind Jizō-in is it's ''
kuri'' (kitchen), which was built in 1930 and was designated a national important cultural property in 1955.
Gochidō is an open pagoda built between 1275–1332 in the late
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
, which was designated a national important cultural property in 1908.
The pagoda's frame has no walls and is adorned with
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
lettering, and is supported by a large central pillar (called a ''
shinbashira The shinbashira (心柱, also 真柱 or 刹/擦 ''satsu'') refers to a central pillar at the core of a pagoda or similar structure. The shinbashira has long been thought to be the key to the Japanese pagoda's notable earthquake resistance, when ne ...
'').
References
External links
(Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chogaku-ji
Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture
Buildings and structures completed in 824