is a Chisan

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

in Sukumo,

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Temple 39 on the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage, the main image is of

Yakushi Nyorai Bhaiṣajyaguru (, zh, t= , , , , ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabha-rāja ("Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light"; zh, t=藥師琉璃光(王)如來, , , ), is the Buddha of healing and medicine i ...

, the Buddha of healing and medicine. The temple is said to have been founded by

Gyōki was a Japanese Buddhist priest of the Nara period, born in Ōtori county, Kawachi Province (now Sakai, Osaka), the son of Koshi no Saichi. According to one theory, one of his ancestors was of Korean descent. Gyōki became a monk at Asuka-d ...

in the first year of the Jinki era.

History

Gyōki founded Enkōji in 724 after receiving an imperial command by

Emperor Shōmu was the 45th Emperor of Japan, emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, duri ...

who had an interest in establishing a system of provincial temples in Japan. Gyōki carved a wooden statue of the deity

which he designated as a

honzon , sometimes referred to as a Gohonzon ( or ), is the enshrined main image or principal deity in Japanese Buddhism. The buddha, bodhisattva, or mandala image is located in either a temple or a household butsudan. The image can be either a statue ...

of the temple. In 911, a climbed up to the temple grounds from the sea carrying a Buddhist temple bell on its back. Statues of this turtle can now be seen throughout the temple grounds along with images of the various deities that represent Enkōji. Enkōji can also be referred to as and .

Buildings

Hondō Main hall or Main Temple is the building within a Japanese Buddhist monastery compound ('' garan'') which enshrines the main object of veneration.Kōjien Japanese dictionary Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, thi ...

, early Jinki period *

Sanmon A or is the most important mon of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen '' shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other denominations ...

: *

Shōrō The two main types of bell tower in Japan The or is the bell tower of a Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple in Japan, housing the temple's . It can also be found at some Shinto shrines which used to function as temples (see article ' ...

* : Shrine within the temple grounds to conduct Goma rituals to ask for blessing from deities. Goma is conducted by burning cedar sticks available for purchase next to the gomadō. * ： It is said that in 795, used a

Khakkhara A khakkhara (; ; ; ), sometimes referred to in English as a pewter staff, is a staff topped with metal rings traditionally carried by Buddhism, Buddhist monks, particularly in East Asian Buddhism. Originally used as a noisemaker to announce a m ...

to break open the ground and pull water up to the surface of the earth to save the nearby villagers suffering from severe droughts. The remaining hole has been turned into a well, and is now known as the “eye cleansing well”. * *

Japanese rock garden The or Japanese rock garden, often called a Zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and u ...

* : Traditional

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

style that has a pond and stream as the center point of the garden. At Enkōji, a statue of a turtle emerging from the pond is the main attraction of this garden.

Treasures

* (911) ( Important Cultural Property): 33 cm tall, 25.2 cm circumference, 23.5 cm diameter (at the mouth of the bell). The oldest Buddhist temple bell in all of Kochi Prefecture. * Wooden Yakushi Nyorai, Nikkō bosatsu, and

Gakkō bosatsu Candraprabha (lit. 'Moonlight', zh, 月光菩薩, link=no; pinyin: ''Yuèguāng Púsà''; Rōmaji: ''Gakkō or Gekkō Bosatsu'') is a bodhisattva often seen with Sūryaprabha, as the two siblings serve Bhaiṣajyaguru. Statues of Candrapr ...

statues ( Sukumo City Designated Tangible Cultural Property ICP) *

Chinese juniper ''Juniperus chinensis'', the Chinese juniper, is a species of plant in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to China, Myanmar, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East. Growing tall, it is a very variable coniferous evergreen tree or shrub. A ...

tree ( Sukumo City Designated Natural Monument ICP): Estimated 400 years old. Designated an ICP by Sukumo City on July 24, 1963.

Gallery

File:赤亀と梵鐘の像.jpg, Statue of a red turtle carrying a bell on its back. File:Garden and turtle.jpg, Statue of a red turtle emerging from a pond. File:Shōrō and bell.jpg, Shōrō next to the entrance of Enkōji. File:Juniper tree - Enkōji.jpg, 400 year old juniper tree designated a Natural Monument of the community. File:Shakkizan Enkoji 06.JPG, Eye cleansing well.

References

{{Coord, 32.961306, N, 132.774056, E, display=title Buddhist temples in Kōchi Prefecture Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Japan Shingon Buddhism 8th-century establishments in Japan 8th-century Buddhist temples 724 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 720s Temples of Shingon-shū Chisan-ha Shikoku Pilgrimage Sites

History

Buildings

Treasures

Gallery

See also

References