Zentsu-ji in Zentsu-ji City Kagawa pref10s3s4592

The is a Buddhist temple of the

Shingon Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

sect in Zentsūji, Kagawa,

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 n ...

. It was established in 807 by

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 ...

, founder of Shingon Buddhism, who was born where the temple now stands. The oldest structure, the Shakadō Hall, dates to around 1677. Zentsū-ji is the 75th temple of the

Shikoku Pilgrimage The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...

. It is also one of the three temples on the tour that Kūkai visited, the others being Tairyūji and Muroto Misaki, as Kūkai mentioned them by name in his writings. The temple is divided into the east precinct (''tō-in)'' centered around the main hall (the Kondō Hall) and the west precinct ''(sai-in)'', where the Mieidō Hall stands over Kūkai's birthplace. The temple grounds burned down in the 16th century during the war-torn

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 ...

, and many structures have been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries.

Notable buildings

East precinct (''tō-in'')

*Gojūnotō – five-storied pagoda and tallest temple structure. Current pagoda completed in 1902. An Important Cultural Property of Japan. *Kondō Hall– the main hall (''hondō)'' of the temple''.'' Last rebuilt in 1699. An Important Cultural Property. *Shakadō Hall – formerly stood over Kukai's birthplace as the Mieidō Hall until moved and renamed in 1831. Built sometime 1673–1680. A Registered Tangible Cultural Property. *Bell tower – Registered Tangible Cultural Property. * Nandaimon – Registered Tangible Cultural Property *Chūmon

West precinct ''(sai-in)''

*Mieidō Hall – stands over Kūkai's birthplace. Current structure built in 1831; renovated in 1937. A Registered Tangible Cultural Property. *

Nio are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrap ...

gate – It was rebuilt in 1889. Registered Tangible Cultural Property. * Gomadō – It was rebuilt in 1889. Registered Tangible Cultural Property. *Henjōkaku

Temple treasures

*Gilt bronze finial of a pilgrim's staff – National Treasure *Preface to the Lotus Sutra decorated with Buddhas – National Treasure *Jizō Bosatsu ryūzō – Important Cultural Property *Kichijōten ryūzō – Important Cultural Property

Gallery

File:Zentsu-ji in Zentsu-ji City Kagawa pref46n4350.jpg, Kondō Hall (main hall) File:Two Niō who stand in the left (Ungyō) and right (Agyō) of the sanmon gate at Zentsū-ji in Zentsū-ji City Kagawa pref.jpg, Nio Gate and

Kairō Two examples of ''kairō'' , , is the Japanese version of a cloister, a covered corridor originally built around the most sacred area of a Buddhist temple, a zone which contained the '' kondō'' and the ''tō''. Nowadays it can be found also ...

File:Zentsu-ji in Zentsu-ji City Kagawa pref26s5s4050.jpg, Mieidō Hall File:Zentsu-ji in Zentsu-ji City Kagawa pref35n4140.jpg, Henjōkaku File:Zentuuzi01.jpg

References

External links

About ZENTSUJI

* ttp://foxandamyinjapan.blogspot.jp/2007/11/zentsuji-temple.html Fox and Amy in Japan Zentsuji Temple
Zentsuji Temple Kotohira 2 Shikoku Japan Travel Guide and Information att.JAPAN

Guide to start the Shikoku 88 temples pilgrimage (french-english)

Echoes of Incense - A Pilgrimage in Japan by Don Weiss

A Shikoku Pilgrimage by Jasbir Sandhu
9th-century establishments in Japan National Treasures of Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Shingon Buddhism Pagodas in Japan Buddhist temples in Kagawa Prefecture Religious buildings and structures completed in 807 {{Buddhist-temple-stub