Butsuryū-ji
| Butsuryū-ji 仏隆寺 | |
|---|---|
 Heian-period stone chamber at Butsuryū-ji (ICP) | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Shingon (Murō-ji branch) |
| Deity | Jūichimen Kannon |
| Location | |
| Location | 1684 Haibara Akabane, Uda, Nara Prefecture |
| Country | Japan |
| Geographic coordinates | 34°30′55″N 136°0′35″E / 34.51528°N 136.00972°E |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Kenne |
| Completed | 850 |
Butsuryū-ji (仏隆寺 or 佛隆寺) is a ninth-century Shingon temple in Uda, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately four kilometres southwest of Murō-ji across Mount Murō.[1]
History[edit]
According to an official letter dated to 946, Butsuryū-ji was founded in 850 by Kenne (堅恵), disciple of Kukai, under the patronage of Okitsugu; upon Kenne's death, Shinsei and Kanshin succeeded him.[1] An inscription on the temple bell of 863 similarly celebrates the temple's foundation by Kenne.[1] Only a fragment of the bell now survives, preserved at the temple; the inscription is known from copies, including a fourteenth-century version now housed at Kanazawa Bunko.[1] A Map of Mount Murō (宀一山図) in the same collection, dating to 1314, locates Kenne's grave at the temple; it is generally identified with Butsuryū-ji's unusual stone chamber with pyramidal roof.[1] Although the present buildings are more recent, a statue of Kenne still stands beside those of Kukai and Jūichimen Kannon on the altar.[1]
Since both Butsuryū-ji and Murō-ji could be referred to as Mount Murō, it appears that the two were sometimes confused or conflated: an early eighteenth-century encyclopaedia refers to the former as Nyonin Kōya or "Kōyasan for Women", an appellation usually reserved for the latter, referring to the ban on female visitation, relaxed in 1872.[2] A stone marker on the road to Butsuryū-ji still proclaims "Mount Murō Nyonin Kōya".[2]
Cultural Properties[edit]
- Stone chamber, dated to the ninth century[1] or late Heian period[3] (Important Cultural Property)[4]
- Nine-hundred-year-old cherry tree (Prefectural Natural Monument)[5][6][7]
There is also a thirteen-storey stone tō dating to 1330 and dedicated to Shũen, important figure in the early history of Murō-ji.[1]
See also[edit]
- List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Heian period: structures)
- Murō-Akame-Aoyama Quasi-National Park
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fowler, Sherry D. (2005). Murō-ji: Rearranging Art and History at a Japanese Buddhist Temple. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 55–59, 224–7. ISBN 0-8248-2792-9.
- ^ a b Fowler, Sherry D. (2005). Murō-ji: Rearranging Art and History at a Japanese Buddhist Temple. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 66–74. ISBN 0-8248-2792-9.
- ^ 佛隆寺石室 [Butsuryūji Stone Chamber] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ 国指定文化財 [Nationally-designated Cultural Properties] (in Japanese). Uda City. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ "Yamanobe-no-Michi, Hase and Murou Area". Nara Prefecture. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ 県指定文化財 [Prefecturally-designated Cultural Properties] (in Japanese). Uda City. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ 奈良県指定文化財一覧 [List of Prefecturally designated Cultural Properties (Nara Prefecture)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Nara Prefecture. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2012.