} The is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

with the ruins of a Hakuhō period

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

in the Ganshoji, Ichogi neighborhood of the town of Mima,

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

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 ...

. Its ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1976, with the area under protection extended in 1997. It is the oldest known Buddhist temple ruin in Tokushima Prefecture.

History

The Kōzato temple ruins are located is located on the

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

of the north bank of the middle reaches of the Yoshino River. The local place name of is recorded from

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 ...

records, and roof tiles which have subsequently been dated to 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 cap ...

have been found in this area, indicating that a temple once existed. A large-scale

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

in 1967 found the foundation stones for the Kondō and Pagoda. From traces of a surrounding earthen palisade and moat, the temple compound was found to occupy an area 94 meters east-to-west by 120 meters north-to-south. The layout of the temple appears to be patterned after

Hokki-ji – formerly known as and – is a Buddhist temple in Okamoto, Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The temple's honorary '' sangō'' prefix is , although it is rarely used. The temple was constructed to honor Avalokitesvara, and an 11-faced st ...

Ikaruga, Nara is a town in Ikoma District, Nara, Japan. Ikaruga is home to Hōryū-ji and Hokki-ji, ancient Buddhist temples collectively inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Other ancient temples include Hōrin-ji, also in the vicinity of Hōryū-ji. T ...

, with the Kondō on the right and the Pagoda on the left. The Pagoda foundations included an irregular octagonal stone with a diameter of over a meter, with a 13-centimeter center hole for the pagoda's main spar. In addition to roof tiles, small pieces of bronze,

Haji pottery is a type of plain, unglazed, reddish-brown Japanese pottery or earthenware that was produced during the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was used for both ritual and utilitarian purposes, and many examples have been found ...

Sue pottery 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 origin ...

, and wooden tally boards have also been excavated from the temple area. There are plans to preserve the ruins as an

archaeological park An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

. The excavated roof tiles and other artifacts are stored and exhibited at the Mima Folk Museum and Tokushima Prefectural Museum, located on the precincts of Gansho-ji temple, about 300 meters from the site. The site is a five-minute walk from the "Teramachi" bus stop on the municipal bus

Sadamitsu Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Tsurugi, Mima District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Shikoku and has the station number "B18". Lines Sadamitsu Station is served by the Tokushima Line and is 19.4 ...

on the JR Tokushima Line.

References

External links

Mima Town home pageTokushima Prefecture home page
{{Buddhist temples in Japan Buddhist temples in Tokushima Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Mima, Tokushima Awa Province (Tokushima) Buddhism in the Asuka period Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan

History

See also

References

External links