Chikurin-ji Temple (Kōchi)
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Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...
located in the Arisato neighborhood of the city of Ikoma,
Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...
, Japan. It belongs to the Ritsu sect and its ''
honzon , sometimes referred to as a Gohonzon ( or ), is the enshrined main image or principal deity in Japanese Buddhism. The buddha, bodhisattva, or mandala image is located in either a temple or a household butsudan. The image can be either a statue ...
'' is a statue of Monju Bosatsu. The temple is known as the location of the grave of the
Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 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 capita ...
prelate
Gyōki was a Japanese Buddhist priest of the Nara period, born in Ōtori county, Kawachi Province (now Sakai, Osaka), the son of Koshi no Saichi. According to one theory, one of his ancestors was of Korean descent. Gyōki became a monk at Asuka-d ...
.


Overview

Chikurin-ji is located in the mountains at the eastern foot of
Mount Ikoma is a mountain on the border of Nara Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture in Japan. It is the highest peak in the Ikoma Mountains with a height of 642 meters. Mount Ikoma is a part of Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park. It is one of the most fam ...
. The history of the temple is uncertain; however, is believed to have started as small hermitage that Gyōki founded in his lifetime, and which was elevated into a temple after his death. The temple's name comes from a temple of the same name on
Mount Wutai Mount Wutai, also known by its Chinese name Wutaishan and as is a sacred Buddhist site at the headwaters of the Qingshui in Shanxi Province, China. Its central area is surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks or mesas roughly correspondin ...
in China, a sacred place for the worship of Manjusri. Gyōki, who was active in social work such as bridge construction and flood control during the
Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 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 capita ...
and also played an important role in the construction of the Great Buddha of Todai-ji, came to be regarded as an incarnation of Manjusri. The ''Gyōki Nenpu'' (written in 1175), one of the basic sources for Gyōki research, states that in 707, when Gyōki was 40 years old, he moved to "Ikuma Senbo." Meanwhile, the ''Chikurinji Ayakuroku'' (written in 1305) by Gyōnen, a scholar of Tōdai-ji, states that Gyōki entered Mount Ikoma in 704 and lived at "Kayano Senbo." There is no certainty that "Ikuma Senbo" and "Kusano Senbo" are the same, or that they correspond to the current Chikurin-ji, but considering that Gyōki's grave is located here, it is assumed that Chikurin-ji is the successor to "Ikuma Senbo." The official history ''
Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi served as t ...
'' has an entry for November 20, 773, which states that "Of the 40-odd temples where Gyōki trained, six have fallen into disrepair, so we will donate three or two ''
chō is a Japanese actor and narrator. His former stage name was . He is a graduate of the Nishogakusha University Department of Literature and received training at Bungakuza's research establishment and the Seinenza Theater Company before attachi ...
'' of rice fields to each of them," and Ikuma-in is listed as one of those six temples. This suggests that the temple had already fallen into disrepair only twenty years after Gyōki's death. According to the ''Chikurin-ji Engi'', written by a monk named Jakumetsu in 1235, about five centuries later, Jakumetsu and his companions dug up Gyōki's grave on Mount Ikoma following a revelation from Gyōki in a dream, and discovered a relic jar (a cinerary vessel) and a tombstone. The contents of the tombstone are preserved in the documents of
Tōshōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the '' kondō'', has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archetyp ...
, and according to which, Gyōki was cremated at the "eastern tomb of Mount Ikuma" after his death at Sugawara-dera (now Kikō-ji Temple in Nara City). Gyōki's relic jar and tombstone were reburied, but a small fragment of the copper tombstone was excavated at the end of the
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
and became the property of a local individual. On November 11, 1933, this was designated an Important Cultural Property under the name "Fragment of Gyōki's Copper Relic Vase" and is currently in the possession of the
Nara National Museum The is one of the pre-eminent national art museums in Japan. Introduction The Nara National Museum is located in Nara, which was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. Katayama Tōkuma (1854–1917) designed the original building, which is a rep ...
. The temple was later rebuilt by
Eison (1201–1290) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded the Shingon Risshu sect. Eison entered religious training when he was eleven years old, studying initially at Daigo-ji and later at Kongōbu-ji. At the age of 34, while at Saidai-ji, he ma ...
and his disciple
Ninshō was a Japanese Shingon Risshu priest during the Kamakura period. His was instrumental in reviving Ritsu Buddhism during this period, as well as establishing facilities to care for invalids. He was criticized by his contemporary Nichiren. He i ...
, but it was abandoned due to the anti-Buddhist movement at the start of the
Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...
. It was not until 1997 that it was rebuilt. Gyōki’s grave is a square mound with sides of about 10 meters. It appears to have been created by carving out the mountain or piling up the earth. In 1921, it was designated a National Historic Site. Chikurin-ji is 1.2 km southwest of Ichibu Station on the Kintetsu
Ikoma Line The is a railway line of Kintetsu Railway in Nara Prefecture, Japan connecting Ikoma Station in the city of Ikoma and Ōji Station in the town of Ōji. Having a total length of , the entirely electrified standard gauge line is partially dou ...
. ikoma chikurinji.jpg, Tomb of Gyoki Part of the epitaph of Gyoki.jpg, Fragment of Gyōki's Copper Relic Vase


Cultural Properties


National Important Cultural Properties

*, The remains of Ninsho, the monk who founded Gokuraku-ji in
Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...
and devoted himself to the restoration of Buddhist precepts and social work during the Kamakura period, were divided into three locations according to his will: Gokuraku-ji, Kakuan-ji ( Yamatokoriyama, Nara), and Chikurin-ji Temple. The bronze ossuary and stone chest were found during an excavation in 1986 (currently kept at Tōshōdai-ji). In addition, a wooden seated statue of Gyōki formerly enshrined at Chikurin-ji, was moved to Tōshōdai-ji after Chikurin-ji was abolished during the Meiji era's anti-Buddhist movement. It is also a National Important Cultural Property.


See also

*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Nara) This list is of the Monuments of Japan, Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefectures of Japan, Prefecture of Nara Prefecture, Nara. National Historic Sites As of 17 June 2022, one hundred and twenty-seven Sites have been Cultural Prope ...


References


External links


Ikoma City home page
{{Buddhist temples in Japan Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Japan Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture Shingon Ritsu temples Yamato Province Gyōki Temples of Mañjuśrī Historic Sites of Japan Ikoma, Nara