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Chūgū-ji Temple , 中宮寺 - Panoramio (4)
is a Buddhist temple located in the town of Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It was founded as a nunnery in the seventh century by Shōtoku Taishi. Located immediately to the northeast of Hōryū-ji, its statue of Miroku and Tenjukoku mandala are National Treasures. Chūgū-ji is one of three nunneries in Yamato whose chief priestesses were imperial princesses. History Chūgū-ji is currently adjacent to the East Temple of Hōryū-ji, but when it was first built, it was located about 500 meters east , at a location which is now the Chūgū-ji Historical Site Park. The details of its foundation are uncertain, as there is no mention of the foundation of the temple in the ''Nihon Shoki'', or other contemporary historical documentation. Per the ''Hōryū-ji Engi'' (747) and the "Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Tei-setsu," it is said to be one of the "Seven Temples Built by Prince Shōtoku." Archaeological excavations on the former temple grounds suggest that it was founded in the early 7t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)
Main hall or Main Temple is the building within a Japanese Buddhist monastery compound ('' garan'') which enshrines the main object of veneration.Kōjien Japanese dictionary Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English term translates several Japanese words, among them ''butsuden'', ''butsu-dō'', ''kondō'', ''konpon-chūdō'', and ''hondō''. ''Hondō'' is its exact Japanese equivalent, while the others are more specialized words used by particular sects or for edifices having a particular structure. Kondō (Asuka and Nara periods) The term started to be used during the Asuka and Nara periods. A ''kondō'' is the centerpiece of an ancient Buddhist temple's ''garan'' in Japan. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it may derive from the perceived preciousness of its content, or from the fact that the interior was lined with gold. This is the name used by the oldest temples in the country.Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten A ''kondō'', for exa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 conducted over a few weeks to several years. Excavation involves the recovery of several types of data from a site. This data includes Artifact (archaeology), artifacts (portable objects made or modified by humans), Feature (archaeology), features (non-portable modifications to the site itself such as post molds, burials, and hearths), Ecofact, ecofacts (evidence of human activity through organic remains such as animal bones, pollen, or charcoal), and archaeological context (relationships among the other types of data).Kelly&Thomas (2011). ''Archaeology: down to earth'' (4th ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Before excavating, the presence or absence of archaeological remains can often be suggested by, non-intrusive remote se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camphor Wood
''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree indigenous to warm temperate to subtropical regions of East Asia, including countries such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. It is known by various names, most notably the camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' grows up to tall. In Japan, where the tree is called ''kusunoki'', five camphor trees are known with a trunk circumference above , with the largest individual, , reaching . The leaves have a glossy, waxy appearance and smell of camphor when crushed. In spring, it produces bright green foliage with masses of very small white fragrant flowers from which its common namesake "smells good tree" in Chinese was given. It produces clusters of black, berry-like fruit around in diameter. Its pale Bark (botany), bark is very rough and fissured vertically. Distribution and habitat The species is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern Japan, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodhisattva Chuguji
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, ''bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in order to compassionately help other individuals reach Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools, as well as modern Theravāda Buddhism, bodhisattva (or bodhisatta) refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will come to pass. In Theravāda Buddhism, the bodhisattva is mainly seen as an exceptional and rare individual. Only a few select individuals are ultimately able to become bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated ''bodhicitta'', a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monzeki
''Monzeki'' (門跡) were Japanese Buddhist priests of aristocratic or Imperial lineage. The term was also applied to the temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ... in which they lived. An example of a ''monzeki'' temple is Daikaku-ji in Kyoto. References * Japanese monarchy {{Buddhism-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sengoku Period
The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start date, but there are many competing historiographies for its end date, ranging from 1568, the date of Oda Nobunaga#Ise campaign, Omi campaign, and march to Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga's march on Kyoto, to the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, deep into what was traditionally considered the Edo period. Regardless of the dates chosen, the Sengoku period overlaps substantially with the Muromachi period (1336–1573). This period was characterized by the overthrow of a superior power by a subordinate one. The Ashikaga shogunate, the ''de facto'' central government, declined and the , a local power, seized wider political influence. The people rebelled against the feudal lords in revolts known as . The period saw a break ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shingon
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric [Buddhism] of Tō-ji"). The word ''shingon'' is the Kan-on, Japanese reading of the Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese word ('), which is the translation of the Sanskrit word mantra. The Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Zhēnyán lineage was founded in China (c. 7th–8th centuries) by Indian Vajracharya, vajrācāryas (esoteric masters) like Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. These esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (, 774–835), who traveled to Tang dynasty, Tang China and received these esoteric transmissions from a Chinese master named Huiguo (746–805). Kūkai established his tradition at Mount Kōya (in Wakayama Prefecture), which remains the central pilgrimage center of Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Asian Yogācāra
East Asian Yogācāra refers to the Mahayana Buddhist traditions in East Asia which developed out of the History of Buddhism in India, Indian Buddhist Yogachara, Yogācāra (lit. "yogic practice") systems (also known as ''Vijñānavāda'', "the doctrine of consciousness" or ''Cittamātra'', "mind-only"). In East Asian Buddhism, this school of Buddhist idealism was known as the "Consciousness-Only school" (). The 4th-century Gandharan brothers, Asanga, Asaṅga and Vasubandhu, are considered the classic founders of Indian Yogacara school.Siderits, Mark, ''Buddhism as philosophy'', 2017, p. 146. The East Asian tradition developed through the work of numerous Buddhist thinkers working in Chinese. They include Bodhiruci, Ratnamati, Huiguang, Paramartha, Paramārtha, Jingying Huiyuan, Zhiyan, Xuanzang and his students Kuiji, Woncheuk and Dōshō. The East Asian consciousness only school is traditionally seen as being divided into two main branches. There is the Dharma nature sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinnyo
was a Japanese Buddhist nun in the 13th century who was largely responsible for the restoration of the Chūgū-ji temple in Nara Prefecture. Biography Shinnyo's father was a poor scholar named Shōen. Shōen had written a Buddhist commentary titled ''Rokuchō no meimoku'', which was the only thing of any value he possessed; after his death, Shinnyo and her sisters were able to make a living by charging scholars to view his work. The proceeds allowed Shinnyo sufficient leisure time to study Buddhism, and she became well-educated in Buddhist doctrine, composing a number of commentaries and studying under the monk Ze-Amidabutsu. In 1243, the priest Sōji submitted a petition to his uncle Eison, the founder of the Shingon Risshu sect, requesting that the Chūgū-ji temple be revived as a nunnery; Eison chose Shinnyo to head this project. The following year, Shinnyo decided to seek full ordination as a nun, an honour that had not been granted for several hundred years. She approached ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamakura Period
The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans. The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan. There are various theories as to the year in which the Kamakura period and Kamakura shogunate began. In the past, the most popular theory was that the year was 1192, when Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed . Later, the prevailing theory was that the year was 1185, when Yoritomo established the , which controlled military and police power in various regions, and the , which was in charge of tax collection and land administration. Japanese history textbooks as of 2016 do not specify a specific year for the beginning of the K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess Hashihito No Anahobe
Princess Hashihito no Anahobe (穴穂部間人皇女, ''Anahobe no Hashihito no Himemiko,'' 560 – 7 February 622朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版. “穴穂部間人皇女”. コトバンク. 2021年9月6日閲覧), also known as Empress Taiza (間人皇后), was a member of the Imperial House of Japan, Japanese imperial family in the Asuka period. She was the Empress of Japan, empress consort through her marriage to Emperor Yōmei. It is said that Prince Shōtoku, Princess Anahobe's eldest son, built the Chūgū-ji temple for his mother. The temple is located in Ikaruga, Yamato Province, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Genealogy Princess Hashihito no Anahobe was born into the ruling clan of Japan. She was the daughter of Emperor Kinmei and his consort, Soga no Oane. The princess has five full brothers: two elder brother and three younger brothers. One of her younger brother will later become Emperor Sushun. In 574, Princess Hashihito no Anahobe married h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influence on Japanese culture, Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese Emperors of Japan, imperial court, noted for its Japanese art, art, especially Japanese poetry, poetry and Japanese literature, literature. Two syllabaries unique to Japan, katakana and hiragana, emerged during this time. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court ladies who were not as educated in Chinese as their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful Kuge, aristocratic family wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
