Mino Kokubun-ji

Mino Kokubun-ji (美濃国分寺) is a Shingon-sect Buddhist temple in the city of Ōgaki, Gifu, Japan. It is one of the few surviving provincial temples established by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794).[1] Due to this connection, the foundation stones of the Nara period temple now located to the south of the present day complex were designated as a National Historic Site by the Japanese government in 1916.[2]

Mino Kokubun-ji
美濃国分寺
Hida Kokubun-ji Hondō
Religion
AffiliationBuddhist
DeityYakushi Nyorai
RiteShingon
Location
Location419 Aono-chō, Ōgaki-shi, Gifu-ken 503-2227
Country Japan
Shown within Gifu Prefecture
Mino Kokubun-ji (Japan)
Geographic coordinates
Architecture
FounderEmperor Shōmu
Completedc.741
Mino Kokubun-ji ruins

History

The temple is located in western Gifu Prefecture, a short distance to the west of the present-day downtown of Ōgaki. The location was near the ichinomiya of Mino Province, the Nangū Taisha, the Hiruiōzuka Kofun and the ruins of the Mino Provincial government complex. The exact date of the temple's foundation is unknown; however, since it follows the same standardized layout for provincial temples all over Japan, it is believed that work started around 741 AD and was completed by the 750s. Per historical records, it was repaired in 766 AD, received a donation of rice in 770, and suffered from extensive damage due to a storm in 775 AD. The original temple was destroyed by a fire in 887 AD, and although reconstructed, disappears from history by the end of the 12th century. The present temple was founded in 1615.

The site of the original temple has been known since antiquity. The foundations of the Kondō were discovered in 1916, and the site was extensively excavated from 1968-1979. As a result of these excavations, the area protected by the National Historic Site designation was expanded in 1971 and again in 1974. A museum was opened on the site by Ōgaki city in 1982. The entire site was opened to the public as an archaeological park in 2007.

The temple's honzon, a seated Yakushi Nyorai statue is 3.04 meters tall and was caved from a single block of keyaki wood. Temple legend states that this statue was carved by the famed priest Gyōki in the Nara period, but stylistically,this statue dates from the late 11th century and was extensively repaired in the Edo period. It is a national Important Cultural Property of Japan.

See also

References
  1. "Kokubunji". Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  2. "美濃国分寺跡" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs.
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