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

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 ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple located in what is now the city of Sukagawa, Fukushima,

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 ...

. The temple no longer exists, but the temple grounds were designated as a National Historic Site by the Japanese government in 1968. The actual name of the temple is unknown.

History

The temple site is immediately north of modern

Sukagawa Station is a railway station in the city of Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Overview *This station is a representative station of Sukagawa City, and is the closest station to the city center, ...

and was discovered in 1961 when the Tohoku Main Line railway underwent construction work for double-tracking and electrification. The temple layout is in the standard layout for a

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 each ...

, as established in each of the

provinces of Japan were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868. Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government. Each province was divided into and ...

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 Be ...

during the

(710 – 794), aligned on a north-south axis with a large main gate to the south, a

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 * Kon ...

and a Pagoda side-by side, and a large lecture hall, all of which was surrounded 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 ...

-like wall. The temple also had rare hexagonal-shaped roof tiles. The date of the construction of the temple is contemporary with the creation of the short-lived

Iwase Province Map of the former Japanese provinces with Iwase highlighted is an old province of Japan which existed for a brief period of time in the Nara period in what is now western Fukushima Prefecture.Kodama. (1958). 図日本文化史大系, p. 30; exc ...

in 718 out of five districts of Mutsu Province: Shirakawa (白河), Iwase (石背), Aizu (会津), Asaka (安積) and Shinobu (信夫), and from the layout of the temple, it can be assumed that the provincial capital of Iwase Province was located nearby. Iwase Province was reabsorbed back into Mutsu some time between 722 and 724. The site is located approximately ten minutes on foot from Sukagawa Station. It was backfilled after excavation, so there is nothing visible at the site except for a stone monument and wooden placard.

References

External links

Sukagawa City site
{{in lang, ja Historic Sites of Japan Sukagawa, Fukushima History of Fukushima Prefecture 8th-century establishments in Japan Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan Former Buddhist temples

History

See also

References

External links