The is a

Rinzai Zen The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...

Buddhist temple located in the city of

Fuefuki, Yamanashi 270px, Ichinomiya Asama Shrine is a city in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 69,463 in 29,406 households, and a population density of 340 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Fuefuki is ...

, Japan. It is the descendant of one of the

provincial temple were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). History Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in eac ...

s established by

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

during the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

(710 – 794) for the purpose of promoting Buddhism as the national religion of Japan and standardising control of the

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

rule to the provinces. The ruins of the Nara period temple are adjacent to the modern temple and were designated as a National Historic Site in 1922. File:Kai-kokubunji yakushi-dou.JPG, Yakushi-dō File:Kai-kokubunji kuri.JPG, ''Kuri'' File:Kai-kokubunji roumon.JPG, '' Rōmon''

Kai Kokubun-ji ruins

The '' Shoku Nihongi'' records that in 741 AD, as the country recovered from a major smallpox epidemic,

ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, the . The area surrounding the ancient Kai Kokubun-ji ruins () contains the ruins of the

provincial capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

and the Ichinomiya Asama Shrine, the ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise t ...

'' of Kai Province, and many late Kofun period

burial mounds A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

from the latter half of the 6th century to the 7th century. The exact dare of the construction of the temple is uncertain, as it is mentioned in historical records only from 938 AD. It was destroyed by fire in 1255. Per archaeological excavations, the original site extended from 250 meters east-to-west and 300 meters north-to-south, surrounded by an earthen rampart and moat. Within this compound, the layout of buildings was patterned after the temple of

Daian-ji was founded during the Asuka period and is one of the Seven Great Temples of Nara, Japan. History The Nihon Shoki records the founding of the , predecessor of the Daian-ji, in 639 during the reign of Emperor Jomei. A nine-story pagoda was ...

in Asuka, Nara, with a South Gate in line with the

Kondō Kondō, Kondo or Kondou (近藤 "near wisteria") is a surname prominent in Japanese culture, although it also occurs in other countries. Notable people with the surname include: * , Japanese ballet dancer * Dorinne K. Kondo, anthropologist * Kond ...

, with the two structures connected by a

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

. The

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, ...

was located on the right side of the courtyard thus formed, and the Lecture Hall (along with other supporting buildings) were located to the rear of the Kondō. Only 25 foundation stones were found at the Lecture Hall ruins, and only two foundation stones remain from the Kondō, but 14 large foundation stones remain from the pagoda ruins, and the corridor has left earthworks-like traces. The foundations for the pagoda indicate that it had a base 16.9 meters square and a probable height of 48 meters. Numerous Tenpyō period

roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete, metal and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof ...

were recovered from the site, which were made at the Kawada kiln located on the opposite bank of the Fuefuki River. The temple was subsequently rebuilt by

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

in the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

as a temple of the

Myōshin-ji is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The Myōshin-ji school is by far the largest school in Rinzai Zen, approximately as big as the other thirteen branches combined: it contains wit ...

branch of the Rinzai Zen school, but the restored temple was located 300 meters southwest of the original site. The original temple site is located approximately 15 minutes by car from Isawa-Onsen Station on the Chūō Main Line. File:Kai-kokubunji-ato kondou.JPG, Site of the Kondo File:Kai-kokubunji-ato koudou.JPG, Site of the Lecture Hall File:甲斐国分寺跡塔跡.jpg, Site of the Pagoda

Kai Kokubun-niji

The site of the Nara period Provincial Nunnery are also located in this area, approximately 490 meters from the site of the Provincial Temple. ()In the surroundings are numerous late Kofun period tumuli from the 6th and 7th centuries. Little is known of the nunnery's history, and the ruins were formerly identified as the site of a residence of the early

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 ...

wizard

Abe no Seimei was an ''onmyōji'', a leading specialist of ''Onmyōdō'' during the middle of the Heian period in Japan.Miller, Laura. "Extreme Makeover for a Heian-era Wizard". ''Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Pres ...

, with the Kai Kokubun-niji designation given to another set of temple ruins nearby. The precincts measure 180 meters square, and were surrounded by a moat and earthen rampart. As with the Kai Kokubun-ji, the layout consisted of a South Gate, Middle Gate, Cloister, Kondō, Lecture Hall and residence for the nuns. The Kondō was a five by four bay structure of which 18 foundation stones were found, and the Lecture Hall was also a five by four bay structure, of which 12 foundation stones were found.

Sue ware was a blue-gray form of stoneware pottery fired at high temperature, which was produced in Japan and southern Korea during the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was initially used for funerary and ritual objects, and origina ...

pottery with an ink inscription "花寺" have been found. Similar shards have been found at the Kazusa Kokubunni-ji site and the ruins of Heijō-kyō, and the inscription is believed to be an abbreviation for the temple of

Hokke-ji , is a Buddhist temple in the city of Nara, Japan. Hokke-ji was built by Empress Kōmyō in 745, originally as a nunnery temple on the grounds where her father Fujiwara no Fuhito's mansion stood. According to records kept by the temple, the ...

, the head temple in Nara of all of the provincial nunneries nationwide. The site was designated as a National Historic Site in 1949 with the area under protection expanded in 2001. File:甲斐国分尼寺跡金堂跡.jpg, Site of the Kondo File:Kai-kokubunniji-ato koudou.JPG, Site of the Lecture Hall

References

External links

Fuefuki city official site
{{Authority control Historic Sites of Japan Fuefuki, Yamanashi Kai Province 9th-century establishments in Japan Archaeological sites in Japan

Kai Kokubun-ji ruins

Kai Kokubun-niji

See also

References

External links