260px, Hall for Kangiten (Shoten)
Hōzan-ji (宝山寺 Hōzan-ji) is a Buddhist temple in Monzen-machi,
Ikoma,
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Though officially dedicated to the deity
Acala
or Achala ( sa, अचल, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism., Jp. re ...
(Fudō Myōō), the temple serves as a cult-center of the deity
Kangiten (Shoten) and is also called 'Ikoma-Shōten' (生駒聖天).
History
The area around Hōzan-ji was originally a place for the training of Buddhist monks. The name of the place at that time was
Daishō-Mudō-ji (大聖無動寺).
Mount Ikoma was originally an object of worship for the ancient people in the region, and so this area was selected as a place for religious training. The training area is said to have opened in 655 by
En no Gyōja
( b. 634, in Katsuragi (modern Nara Prefecture); d. c. 700–707) was a Japanese ascetic and mystic, traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, the path of ascetic training practiced by the ''gyōja'' or ''yamabushi''.
He was banish ...
. Many Buddhist monks, including
Kūkai (空海), are said to have trained in here.
Hozan-ji started when
Tankai (湛海) re-opened this training area in the 17th century. Tankai set up a statue of
Kangiten (Shoten) at this place in 1678, the official year Hozan-ji was established.
In the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, this temple was one of the most popular Buddhist temples in this region.
Cultural properties
This temple has
Important Cultural Properties selected by the Japanese government.
*Shishi-Kaku Building (獅子閣)
*Five statues of Zushiiri-Mokuzo-Godai-Myōō (厨子入木造五大明王像)
*Kenpon-Chosyoku-Kasuga-Mandara-zu (絹本著色春日曼荼羅図)
*Kenpon-Choshoku-Aizen-Myōō (絹本著色愛染明王像)
*Kenpon-Choshoku-Miroku-Bosatsu (絹本著色弥勒菩薩像)
*Five volumes of ''No-hon'', written by
Zeami (世阿弥能本)
Access
*
Hōzanji Station
is a funicular station in Ikoma, Nara Prefecture, Japan, on the Kintetsu Ikoma Cable Line
The , referred to as , is a cable railway line owned and operated by the Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese major private railway. The line connects Torii ...
of
Ikoma Cable Line
The , referred to as , is a cable railway line owned and operated by the Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese major private railway. The line connects Toriimae to Ikomasanjo, all of which are within Ikoma, Nara, Japan.
Basic data
*Lines and distance ...
*
Umeyashiki Station of
Ikoma Cable Line
The , referred to as , is a cable railway line owned and operated by the Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese major private railway. The line connects Toriimae to Ikomasanjo, all of which are within Ikoma, Nara, Japan.
Basic data
*Lines and distance ...
See also
*
Thirteen Buddhist Sites of Yamato
* For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the
Glossary of Japanese Buddhism.
File:Hozanji tahoto.jpg
File:Hozanji ususama zou.jpg, Ucchusma
Ucchuṣma (Chinese: 穢跡金剛; Pinyin: ''Huìjì Jīngāng''; Rōmaji: ''Ususama Myōō'') is a Vidyārāja in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Ucchuṣma's full name in Sanskrit sources is ''Vajra Krodha Mahābala Ucchuṣma'' (lit. "Grea ...
File:Aizen Myōō (Hōzanji Ikoma).jpg, Rāgarāja
File:Miroku Bosatsu (Hozanji Ikoma).jpg, Maitreya
Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hozan-Ji
Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
Shingon Ritsu temples
Giyōfū architecture
Temples of Fudō Myōō
