Myōō-in (明王院) is a Buddhist temple in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan.

History

Kūkai Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon se ...

states that the Risshū or " Vinaya School", one of the

Nanto Rokushū The Six Schools of Nara Buddhism, also known as the ''Rokushū'' 六宗 (also ''Rokushuu/Rokushu''), were academic Buddhist sects. These schools came to Japan from Korea and China during the late 6th and early 7th centuries. All of these schools ...

, constructed this temple in 807. The original name of the temple was ''Jōfuku-ji'' . The major object of worship at this temple, a statue of Eleven-Faced Kannon (Juchimen-

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

), is estimated to have originated in the early years 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 ...

and no doubt was extant in the 9th century. During 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 characte ...

, this temple changed its sect affiliation and name to fall under the protection of the

Mizuno clan The was a Japanese kin group which claimed descent from Minamoto no Mitsumasa, son of Minamoto no Tsunemoto of the Seiwa Genji clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2 ...

, a clan of ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

s'' in the region. Today, the temple belongs to the .

Object of Worship

*Juchimen-Kannon – estimated to be carved in the 9th century

Cultural Properties

This temple has two National Treasures and one Important Cultural Property as selected by Japanese government.

National Treasures

* The Main Hall – constructed in 1321 * Five Story Pagoda – constructed in 1348

Important Cultural Properties

* Juichimen-Kannon

Access

* Kusadouenocho Bus Stop of Tomotetsu Bus

References

Official Home Page of Fukuyama City
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myooin, Hiroshima Buddhist temples in Hiroshima Prefecture Fukuyama, Hiroshima National Treasures of Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Pagodas in Japan Hiroshima Prefecture designated important cultural property