is a Buddhist temple in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, Japan. Founded by

Kūya Kūya (空也; 903-972) was an itinerant Japanese Buddhist monk, or ''hijiri'' (聖), later ordained in the Tendai Buddhist sect, who was an early proselytizer of the practice of the nembutsu amongst the populace. Kuya's efforts helped promote th ...

in 951, the

Hondō Main hall is the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple compound ('' garan'') which enshrines the main object of veneration.Kōjien Japanese dictionary Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English t ...

was burned during the wars at the end of 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 ...

. Its replacement of 1363, damaged during the

Shintō Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

revival at the beginning of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, was restored in 1969. The temple house a number of statues of the Heian and Kamakura periods that have been designated Important Cultural Properties, including a Kamakura period image of its founder

, as well as a Heian Jūichimen Kannon that is a

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the funda ...

. The temple was originally founded by Kūya as Saikō-ji (西光寺), but after the temple was renovated it received its present name from the priest Chushin. Generally, the temple's name is thought to be derived from the "six virtues" (六波羅蜜) requisite to supreme enlightenment. However, there is another theory that the name is derived from the area's old name, Rokuhara, after which was also named the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no ...

's secret police, the

Rokuhara Tandai was the post of the chiefs of the Kamakura shogunate in Kyoto whose agency, the , kept responsibility for security in Kinai and judicial affairs on western Japan, and negotiated with the imperial court. Despite keeping security, the Rokuhara we ...

, whose offices were located nearby.

References

External links

Rokuharamitsu-ji homepage
Buddhist temples in Kyoto Important Cultural Properties of Japan {{Japan-religious-struct-stub

See also

References

External links