Gokokushi-ji
Encyclopedia
Shingon Buddhism
is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist lineages that started in the 3rd to 4th century CE that originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra...
located in Gifu
Gifu, Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...
, Gifu Prefecture
Gifu Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is the seventeenth of the Mino Thirty-three Kannon
Mino Thirty-three Kannon
The are a collection of Buddhist temples in southern Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The name is derived from Mino Province, the former name for the area...
.
History
The Temple was founded in 746746
Year 746 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 746 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Byzantine forces regain Cyprus...
, under the orders of Emperor Shōmu
Emperor Shomu
was the 45th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 723.-Traditional narrative:...
. The original temple was destroyed in 1590 by a large fire, but was rebuilt during the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
's Genbun
Genbun
was a , also Gembun, after Kyōhō and before Kanpō. This period spanned the years from April 1736 through February 1741. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
and Hōreki
Horeki
was a after Kan'en and before Meiwa. The period spanned the years from October 1751 through June 1764. The reigning emperor and emperess were and .-Change of era:...
eras. The rebuilt temple is still extant today.
See also
- For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese BuddhismGlossary of Japanese BuddhismThis is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries...
. - List of National Treasures of Japan (crafts-others)