JAPANESE TEMPLES
Japanese Temples - Japan Temple including a list of the most famous Japanese temples.
Japanese Temple pictures and descriptions.
Buddhist temples in
Japan are varied, yet there are certain
generalizations that can be made, and general rules or guidelines that are
followed.
Along with Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples are the most numerous, famous,
and important religious buildings in Japan.
The Japanese word for a Buddhist temple is tera (寺, tera), and the same
kanji also has the pronunciation ji, so temple names often end with -ji or -dera.
There are a number of other variations such as -in. Famous temples in
Japan including Enryaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera,
and Kotoku-in illustrate the naming patterns.
Japanese Temples - Golden Pavilion
Famous Japanese
Temples
Fukui Temples
Eihei-ji Temple
Eihō-ji
Jōzai-ji
Mie-ji
Shōhō-ji
Sōfuku-ji
Zenkō-ji
Zuiryū-ji
Hyōgo Temples
Antai-ji
Kanno-ji
Kanagawa Temples
An'yō-in
Engaku-ji
Hase-dera
Kenchō-ji
Jōchi-ji
Jufuku-ji
Meigetsu-in
Kōtoku-in
Sōji-ji
Zuisen-ji
Anrakuji Temple is very popular in
cherry blossom season, early summer for its azaleas and late autumn for its
leaves of red and orange.
Byodoin Temple
is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in
Kyoto. It appears on the 10 Yen coin.
Daigoji Temple and its five storied pagoda
are a World Heritage Site and a National Treasure. Daigoji Temple is also
famous for its cherry blossom viewing in spring.
Daitokuji Temple - A small and
understated temple complex, boasting several small, secluded sub-temples.
Eikan-do Zenrin-ji Temple is
famous for its fall foliage and for its prominence in the past as a center
of learning.
Enryakuji Temple is
a monastery overlooking Kyoto.
Ginkakuji - Silver Pavilion - built in the style of the
Golden Pavilion with a famous rock
and sand garden.
Honen-in Temple is a
beautiful secluded temple with a thatched gate.
Hongwanji Temple
Kamigamo Shrine is one of the oldest
shrines in Japan and is a World Heritage Site.
Kinkakuji
Temple - Golden Pavilion
- The most famous temple in Kyoto and probably Japan. The temple is
literally covered in gold!
Kiyomizu-dera
Temple complex - Impressive 13m high veranda and pure water fall.
Kozanji Temple is a World Heritage Site
featuring Japan's oldest tea garden and many National Treasures including
pictures.
Nanzenji Temple is popular temple complex
with a distinctive two-storey entrance gate (sanmon) and aqueduct.
Ninnaji Temple is a World Heritage Site and
its treasure house contains many National Treasures.
Ryoanji Temple
- World famous Zen dry landscape garden and one of the top three
Japanese gardens.
Saihoji Temple is a World Heritage
Site featuring a famous moss garden. Saihoji Temple has restricted access
for tourists.
Sanjusangendo Temple is famous for the
Thousand Armed Kannon it houses.
Tenryuji
Temple - World Heritage Site. Tenryuji Temple is famous for its
gardens, history and religious significance.
Tofukuji Temple's main gate is the oldest Zen main gate in all
Japan.
It is very popular in autumn for its red foliage.
Toji Temple - A World Heritage Site, the Toji Temple is a Buddhist temple
and includes the tallest wooden tower in Japan.
Daian-ji
Gangō-ji
Horyuji
Temple -
house the orld’s
oldest surviving wooden structures.
Kōfuku-ji
Ōminesan-ji
Saidai-ji
Todaiji Temple - it houses a giant
statue of the Buddha Vairocana.
Tōshōdai-ji
Yakushi-ji
Gokuku-ji Temple
Sensoji Temple - Also known as
Asakusa Temple
Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple
Zojoji Temple
Japanese Temples - Byodoin
Japanese Temples
Layout & Geomantic Positioning
Buddhist temple
complexes consist of a number of structures arranged according to certain
concepts or guidelines.
The
Horyuji
in Nara, which claims to include the world's oldest
wooden buildings, serves as a perfect example of the standard layout of a
Buddhist temple/monastery complex. There are three essential buildings in
any temple complex: a pagoda (tō (塔, tō), typically three or five stories),
a Great Hall (often called kondō (金堂, kondō) or honden (本殿, honden)), and a
monastic study hall kodo (講堂, kodo).
The arrangement of the major buildings (garan haichi (伽藍配置, garan haichi))
changed over time. An early pattern had a gate, tower, kondo and kodo in a
straight line from south to north. Corridors extended east and west from the
flanks of the gate, then turned north, and finally joined north of the kodo,
forming a cloister around the pagoda and the major halls. This pattern,
typified by Shitennō-ji in Osaka, came from China
via Baekje; the Chinese style of Buddhist temples, though altered somewhat
by China via Korean peninsula, ultimately was based on that of Chinese
palaces, and this is evident in many of the basic design features which
remain today in the temples of all three countries.
A Buddhist temple complex in Japan generally follows the pattern of a series
of sacred spaces encircling a courtyard, and entered via a set of gates.
These gates will typically have a pair of large guardian statues, called Nio.
In addition, many of the more important or powerful temples are built in
locations which are favourable according to the precepts of Chinese
geomancy. For example, Enryaku-ji, which sits atop Mount Hiei to the
north-east of Kyoto, is said to defend the city from
evil spirits by being placed in that direction. The arrangements of
mountains and other geographic features in particular directions around the
temple play important roles as well. This custom continued for a long time.
Eight centuries after the founding of Enryakuji, the Tokugawa shogunate
established Kan'ei-ji in a similar direction for the protection of their
castle in Edo. Its mountain-name, Tōei-zan, takes a character from Hiei-zan
(Mount Hiei), and can be interpreted as meaning "the Mount Hiei of the
East."
In addition to geomantic considerations, Buddhist temples, like any other
religious structures, need to be organized in order to best serve their
various purposes. The most primary space in any Buddhist temple complex is
the sacred space, where images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas are kept, and
where important rituals are performed. This area is always separated off
from the areas accessible to the lay worshippers, though the distance
between the two and the manner of their separation is quite varied. In many
temples, there is little more than a wooden railing dividing the sacred
space with that of the laypeople; but in many others, there is a significant
distance, perhaps a gravelled courtyard, between the two.
Another structure or space of great importance accommodates the physical
day-to-day needs of the clergy. Spaces for eating, sleeping and studying are
essential, particularly in those temples that serve as monasteries.
Japanese Temples
Architecture
The architecture of
Buddhist temples, like that of any structure, has changed and developed over
the centuries. However, while the particular details may vary, the general
themes and styles have strong similarities and common origins.
Most, if not all, Buddhist temple buildings exhibit the same basic design
elements as other traditional Japanese buildings. Tall thick wooden columns
serve as the load-bearing and stabilizing element of the structure. Each
column sits atop a single large stone, anchoring the building. The walls,
floors, and complex bracketed roof structure are then built around these
columns. There is great diversity in the style and appearance of roofs, but
most follow the basic concept of a tiled sloping roof. The roofs of many
older temples, designed more directly on mainland forms, have upturned
flaring corners. Meanwhile, newer temples that are based more on native
Japanese styles will have smoother, flatter roof corners.
The
Horyuji
already mentioned was one of the first, if not the first, Buddhist temple
built in Japan. Its primary structures represent the style then current in
6th century Sui dynasty China. The Konden (Golden Hall) is a double-roofed
structure, supported by thick, strong pillars, and giving a feeling of
boldness and weight.
(Article
based on
Wikipedia article and used under the
GNU Free Documentation License)
See also Japan temples |
