Mutsu Kokubun-ji Yakushidō

Mutsu Kokubun-ji (陸奥国分寺?) in Sendai is the provincial temple of former Mutsu Province, Japan. The later Yakushidō (薬師堂?) is an Important Cultural Property.

Contents

History

The Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the kokubunji (国分寺?).[1][2] Destroyed in 1189, Masamune Date rebuilt the complex in 1607 with a Yakushi Hall.[3][4][5] In 1903 this was designated an Important Cultural Property.[6]

Mutsu Kokubun-ji

The seven main structures, pagoda, main hall, lecture hall, sutra repository, bell tower, refectory, and dormitory, were enclosed within a roofed earthen wall and accessed via the main gate. Excavations have revealed that this was one of the largest of the provincial temples.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Brown, Delmer M. (1993). Cambridge History of Japan vol. I. Cambridge University Press. p. 255. 
  2. ^ a b Yiengpruksawan, Mimi Hall (1998). Hiraizumi: Buddhist Art and Regional Politics in Twelfth-Century Japan. Harvard University Press. pp. 22f. 
  3. ^ "Mutsu Kokubunji Temple - Yakushidō Hall". Tokyo Chizu Publishing. http://www.japan-i.jp/explorejapan/tohoku/miyagi/sendai/d8jk7l000002r67y.html. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
  4. ^ "Mutsu Kokubunji Yakushidō (in Japanese)". MiyaginoTabi. http://miyagitabi.com/wakabayasi/yakusidou/. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
  5. ^ "Mutsu Kokubunji Yakushidō (in Japanese)". Miyagi Prefecture. http://www.pref.miyagi.jp/bunkazai/siteibunkazai/miyagi-no-bunkazai/01kenzoubutu/kuni/08kokubunji.htm. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
  6. ^ "Database of Registered National Cultural Properties". Agency for Cultural Affairs. http://www.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails.asp?register_id=102&item_id=123. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 

External links