Nanzo-in

Nanzo-in (南蔵院) is a Shingon sect Buddhist temple in Sasaguri, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is notable for its bronze statue of a reclining Buddha, said to be the largest bronze statue in the world.

Nanzo-in
南蔵院
Religion
AffiliationShingon
Location
Location1035, Sasaguri, Sasaguri-machi, Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka
CountryJapan
Architecture
FounderHayashi Satoshiun
Completed1899
Website
http://www.nanzoin.com/ (Japanese only)

History
Gate to Nanzoin Temple in Sasaguri, Fukuoka, Japan.

Nanzo-in temple was originally located on Mt. Koyasan, but local anti-Buddhist authorities threatened to destroy the temple in 1886.[1] Public outcry lead to a decade-long effort to have the temple transferred to Sasaguri.[2] It was moved in 1899, under the leadership of Sasaguri priest, Hayashi Satoshiun.[3] Nanzo-in temple is the main location among the 88 temples that make up the Sasaguri pilgrimage route, one of the three famous walking pilgrimages in Japan.[4]

Today, the temple and its surrounding grounds receive more than 1 million visitors annually.[4]

Lottery

A chief priest of Nanzo-in temple once won the lottery after laying his ticket next to a statue of Daikoku.[5] The temple claims that others who have made a similar effort have also won the lottery, bringing the temple associations with luck and lottery tickets.[6]

Reclining Buddha

The reclining Buddha statue, known as either Nehanzo or Shaka Nehan ("Nirvana")[7] is 41 meters long, 11 meters high, and weighs nearly 300 tons.[8] The statue depicts Buddha at the moment of death, or entrance into nirvana.[6]

The interior holds ashes of Buddha and two Buddhist adherents, Ananda and Maudgalyayana. Those relics were a gift from Myanmar as thanks for the sect's donations of medical supplies to children in both Nepal and Myanmar.[3] In 1995, 1,300 monks from Myanmar and Nepal attended the unveiling of the reclining Buddha statue.[3]

Inside the sculpture, sand from each of the 88 shrines that make up the Shikoku pilgrimage are stored below bricks within a narrow hallway.[9]

Every year, hundreds of Buddhists come together to clean the statue using bamboo leaves tied to five-meter poles.[7]

Funerals

Nanzo-in Temple has 4,315 nokotsudo, places where bones of the deceased are stored.[10] The temple has a non-traditional fee structure for housing remains. First, it is open to all sects of Buddhism, and is even open to Shinto remains. Secondly, many Buddhist temples rely on a monthly fee for housing the bones of the deceased, which are then disposed of after a set period of time. Nanzo-in Temple has one fee, which covers 200 years.[10]

References
  1. "Nanzo-in Temple".
  2. ACROS, Fukuoka (2011). Fukuoka Guide Spring 2011. ACROS Fukuoka.
  3. Kanko, Sasaguri. "Sasaguri Tourism: Nanzoin Temple (Japanese)". Sasagurikanko.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  4. Fukuoka, Crossroads. "Nanzoin Temple". Crossroads.
  5. "Nanzo-in Temple: The Reclining Buddha Temple".
  6. "The Beautiful Nanzoin Temple Fukuoka".
  7. "Karmic Cleansing". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  8. Sasaguri-shi. Sasaguri Sight-Seeing Spots (PDF). Sasaguri Town.
  9. Nakamura, Connie. "Sasaguri Town - Mini Pilgrimage And More!". Taiken.co. Taiken. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  10. Bryant, Clifton (2003). Handbook of Death and Dying. SAGE. p. 668.

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