Hannya-ji

Hannya-ji (般若寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon Ritsu sect in Nara, Japan. Its foundation is variously dated, but mention in a document in the Shōsōin provides a terminus ante quem of the mid-eighth century.

Hannya-ji
般若寺
Hondō of 1667; Hannya-ji is also known as "Cosmos Temple" (コスモス寺)[1]
Religion
AffiliationShingon Ritsu
DeityMonju Bosatsu
Location
Location221 Hannyaji-chō, Nara, Nara Prefecture
CountryJapan
Website
http://www.hannyaji.com

Name

Hannya is a phonetic rendering of prajñā, the Sanskrit term for wisdom or insight.[2]

History

According to temple tradition, Ekan, a monk from Goguryeo, founded the monastic complex of Hannyadai (般若台) on the site in 629. Emperor Shōmu is then said to have bestowed upon it, in 735, six hundred volumes of the Daihannyaharamitta-kyō, in gold on indigo paper, along with a sotōba and the name Hannya-ji.[3]

According to The Tale of the Heike, during the Genpei War, Taira no Kiyomori dispatched Taira no Shigehira to lead the attack on Nara, in 1180. The defenders, many of them monks, took up position on Narazaka and at Hannya-ji. When the fighting continued into the night, Shigehira ordered torches to be lit, and one of his men set fire to a nearby house. Fanned by strong winds, the flames spread as far as Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji. Later Shigehira's head was nailed in front of the Hannya-ji torii, since this is where he had stood when the temples burned.[4]

Architecture
The rōmon (NT) after the repairs of 1908; further work was undertaken on the roof in 1955[5]

Rōmon

The rōmon or "tower gate" is a National Treasure. Dated to the second half of the thirteenth century, perhaps to the Bun'ei era, it is unusual in having only one entrance, its narrowness precluding the standard three; a three bay form is adopted in the upper level.[6][7][8]

Hondō

The hondō with hip-and-gable roof dates from Kanbun 7 (1667) and has been designated a Prefectural Cultural Property.[9]

Kyōzō

The three-by-two bay kyōzō or repository for sutras, temple chronicles, and the like, dates from the second half of the Kamakura period and is an Important Cultural Property.[10][11]

Tō

The thirteen-storey stone pagoda dates from 1253 and is an Important Cultural Property.[12][13]

Treasures

Important Cultural Properties include the hengaku or plaque bearing the temple's name, from the Heian period;[14] a reliquary of the Kamakura period;[15] a pair of kasatōba from 1261;[16] a wooden Monju Bosatsu riding on a lion of 1324;[17] a bronze Yakushi Nyorai of the Heian period;[18] a prayer text by Eison of 1269;[19] and a collection of objects from inside the stone tō, dating from the Nara period to the Meiji period as well as from Southern Song China, uncovered in 1964.[20] There are also statues from the Edo period of Fudō Myōō, the Four Heavenly Kings, Kōbō Daishi, and Kōshō Daishi (Eison), as well as a series of thirteen stone images of Kannon.[13]

See also

References
  1. 般若寺 [Hannyaji] (in Japanese). Hannyaji. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  2. Seckel, Dietrich (1985). "Buddhist Temple Names in Japan". Monumenta Nipponica. Sophia University. 40 (4): 373. doi:10.2307/2384822. JSTOR 2384822.
  3. 歴史 [History] (in Japanese). Hannyaji. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  4. The Tale of Heike. Translated by McCullough, Helen Craig. Stanford University Press. 1988. pp. 194–6, 400. ISBN 978-0804718035.
  5. 般若寺楼門 [Hannyaji Rōmon] (in Japanese). Nara Prefectural Library. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  6. 般若寺楼門 [Hannyaji Rōmon] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  7. 国宝 [National Treasures of Japan] (in Japanese and English). Vol. 4. The Mainichi Newspapers. 1966. p. 62.
  8. "Roumon". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  9. 奈良県指定文化財一覧 [List of Prefectural Cultural Properties of Nara Prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Nara Prefecture. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. 般若寺経蔵 [Hannyaji Kyōzō] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  11. "Kyouzou". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  12. 般若寺十三重塔 [Hannyaji Thirteen-Storey Pagoda] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  13. 寺宝 [Temple Treasures] (in Japanese). Hannyaji. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  14. 木造寺門扁額〈（伝嵯峨天皇宸翰）／〉 [Hengaku from the Temple Gate] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  15. 厨子入舎利塔 [Reliquary inside a Zushi] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  16. 笠塔婆 [Kasatōba] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  17. 木造文殊菩薩騎獅像（本堂安置） [Wooden Statue of Monju Bosatsu Riding on a Lion] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  18. 銅造薬師如来立像 [Bronze Standing Statue of Yakushi Nyorai] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  19. 紙本墨書叡尊願文 [Eison Ganmon, ink on paper] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  20. 大和般若寺石造十三重塔内納置品 [Eison Ganmon, ink on paper] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
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