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Gokuraku-ji (Saijō)
Gokuraku-ji (極楽寺) is the head temple of the Ishizuchisan Shingon and Shugendō sect in Saijō, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The principal images are the Amida Triad and Zaō Gongen. It is the fundamental training center for Ishizuchisan sect, and has been a major training center for Shugendō for about 1,300 years. History According to temple legend, around 680 AD, En no Gyōja retreated to Mount Ryuo, where he could look up at Mount Ishizuchi, purified himself at Fudogataki waterfall and underwent training. He founded Tengaji Temple, which has the Amida Triad and three Ishizuchi Gongen statues as its principal image, and the temple flourished from the Heian period to the Muromachi period. However, at the end of the Muromachi period, Tengaji Temple was burned down in 1350 during the wars of the 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 K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amitābha
Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism and the most widely venerated Buddhist deities, Buddhist figure in East Asian Buddhism.阿彌陀 Amitâbha Digital Dictionary of Buddhism Amitābha is also known by the name Amitāyus ("Measureless Life"). Amitābha is the main figure in two influential Indian Buddhist Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Scriptures: the ''The Amitāyus Sutra, Sutra of Measureless Life'' and the ''Amitābha Sūtra''. According to the ''Sutra of Measureless Life'', Amitābha established a Pure Land, pure land of perfect peace and happiness, called Sukhavati, Sukh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
En No Gyōja
was a Japanese ascetic and mystic, traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, the path of ascetic training practiced by the ''gyōja'' or ''yamabushi''. He was banished by the Imperial Court to Izu Ōshima on June 26, 699, but folk tales at least as old as the ''Nihon Ryōiki'' (c. 800) recount his supernatural powers and exploits. He is also referred to by the name , , or also under the full name En no Kimi Ozunu, where is his kabane or titular name. Historical references Even historical accounts of his life are intermixed with legends and folklore. According to the chronicle ''Shoku Nihongi'' ( 797 AD), En no Ozunu was banished to the island of Izu Ōshima on June 26, 699: On ''hinoto-ushi'' ( sexagenary "fire ox") day Izu no Shima. Ozunu had first lived in Mount Katsuragi (other)">Mount Katsuragi and been acclaimed for his sorcery and was the teacher of Outer Junior 5th Rank Lower Grade . Later, [a person (or Hirotari?)] envied his power and accused ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shingon Buddhism
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 uddhismof Tō-ji"). The word ''shingon'' is the Japanese reading of the Chinese word ('), which is the translation of the Sanskrit word mantra. The Zhēnyán lineage was founded in China (c. 7th–8th centuries) by Indian 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 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 Shingon Buddhism. The practice of the Shingon school stresses that one is able to atta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saijō, Ehime
is a Cities of Japan, city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 106,016 in 58,803 households and a population density of 210 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Saijō is in central Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku and is bordered by the Seto Inland Sea to the north. It sits at the base of Mount Ishizuchi, the tallest peak in western Japan. The consolidated city of Saijō encompasses a broad area, spreading out across the entire Dōzen Plain from the foothills of the Ishizuchi Mountain Range to the Seto Inland Sea (the former Saijō City, Tōyo City, Komatsu Town and Tanbara Town), and also contains smaller communities extending into the lower reaches of the mountains. The Dōzen Plain is crossed by several rivers, the largest being the Kamo River and the Nakayama River. The main city of Saijō is known for natural spring water. Signs throughout the city and at the city's train station call Saijō the "Spring Water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ehime Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,334,841 and a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tokushima Prefecture to the east, and Kōchi Prefecture to the southeast. Matsuyama is the capital and largest city of Ehime Prefecture and the largest city on Shikoku, with other major cities including Imabari, Ehime, Imabari, Niihama, and Saijō, Ehime, Saijō. Notable past Ehime residents include three Nobel Prize winners: Kenzaburo Oe (1994 Nobel Prize in Literature), Shuji Nakamura (2014 Nobel Prize in Physics), and Syukuro Manabe (2021 Nobel Prize in Physics). History Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime Prefecture was known as Iyo Province. Since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongols, Mongolian invasions. After the Battle of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and List of islands of Japan, thousands of smaller islands, covering . Japan has a population of over 123 million as of 2025, making it the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh-most populous country. The capital of Japan and List of cities in Japan, its largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the List of largest cities, largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37 million inhabitants as of 2024. Japan is divided into 47 Prefectures of Japan, administrative prefectures and List of regions of Japan, eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of Geography of Japan, the countr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amida Buddha
Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Romans ** The Armenian Catholic titular see Amida of the Armenians ** The Syrian Catholic (Antiochian Rite) titular Metropolitan see Amida of the Syriacs * Mount Amida, mountain in Saeki-ku, Hiroshima, Japan Other * Amitābha Buddha, in Japanese * Amida (beetle), ''Amida'' (beetle), a beetle genus * ''Amida'', a ladder climbing puzzle video game * Amida, is Swiss watchmaker founded in 1925 in Grenchen. See also * Amitabha (other) * Amidah, the central prayer of Jewish worship * Amidakuji, a way of drawing lots * Aëtius of Amida, 6th century medical writer {{dab, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaō Gongen
A , literally "incarnation", was believed to be the manifestation of a buddha in the form of an indigenous kami, an entity who had come to guide the people to salvation, during the era of shinbutsu-shūgō in premodern Japan.Encyclopedia of Shinto''Gongen''accessed on October 5, 2008Tamura (2000:87) The words and are synonyms for gongen. is the term for belief in the existence of gongen. The gongen concept is the cornerstone of the honji suijaku theory, according to which Buddhist deities choose to appear to the Japanese as native kami in order to save them, which is based on the Mahayana Buddhist notion of upaya, "expedient means". History It is sometimes assumed that the word ''gongen'' derives from Tokugawa Ieyasu's posthumous name (Tōshō Daigongen). However, the term was created and started being used in the middle of the Heian period in an effort to harmonize Buddhism and indigenous religious practice in what is called shinbutsu-shūgō or "syncretism of kami and b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shugendō
is a syncretic Esoteric Buddhist religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn primarily from Esoteric Buddhism, local folk-religious practices, Shinto, mountain worship, and Taoism. The final purpose of ''Shugendō'' is for practitioners to find supernatural power and save themselves and the masses by conducting religious training while treading through steep mountain ranges. Practitioners are called or . The mountains where ''shugendo'' is practiced are all over Japan, and can span multiple mountains within one range such as the Ōmine mountain range with Mount Hakkyō and Mount Ōmine or the Ishizuchisan mountain range with Kamegamori and Tengudake. The ''Shugendō'' worldview includes a large pantheon of deities (which include Buddhist and Shinto figures). Some of the most important figures are the tantric B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Ishizuchi
is a mountain on the border of Saijō, Ehime, Saijō and Kumakōgen, Ehime, Kumakōgen, in Ehime Prefecture, Ehime, Japan. This mountain is one of the List of the 100 famous mountains in Japan, 100 famous mountains in Japan. It is the highest mountain in Western Japan and the island of Shikoku. Once upon a time it was a stratovolcano with large scale magma activity. Over time the magma activity ceased and it became extinct with no eruption activities in the past 10kya years or recent signs of eruption Outline Mount Ishizuchi is the highest mountain on the island of Shikoku and also the highest mountain west of Mount Haku. It is known as 'the roof of Shikoku' and the sharp, rocky summit resembles a huge . Mount Ishizuchi is an important object of worship in this region and one of the major centers of Shugendō, a sect of mixture of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, Buddhism. At the top of the mountain there is a small shrine called the Ishizuchi Shrine. This mountain is also ... [...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] |
Muromachi Period
The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ''shōgun'', Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336) of imperial rule was brought to a close. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this line, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga. From a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama and Higashiyama cultures (later 15th – early 16th centuries). The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as the or Northern and Southern Court period. This period is marked by the continued resistance of the supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind the Kenmu Restoration. The Sengoku period or Warring States period, which begins in 1465, largely overlaps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
