Noto Kokubun-ji

Noto Kokubun-ji
能登国分寺
Reconstructed gage to Noto Kokubun-ji
Shown within Ishikawa Prefecture
Noto Kokubun-ji (Japan)
Basic information
Location Nanao, Ishikawa
Geographic coordinates 37°1′30.0″N 136°57′27″E / 37.025000°N 136.95750°E / 37.025000; 136.95750Coordinates: 37°1′30.0″N 136°57′27″E / 37.025000°N 136.95750°E / 37.025000; 136.95750
Affiliation Buddhist
Country Japan
Status ruins
Architectural description
Founder Emperor Shōmu
Completed 843 AD

Noto Kokubun-ji (能登国分寺) was a Buddhist temple located in what is now the city of Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan. It was one of the provincial temples established by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794) for the purpose of promoting Buddhism as the national religion of Japan and standardising control of the Yamato rule to the provinces.[1] The temple no longer exists, but the temple grounds were designated as a National Historic Site by the Japanese government in 1974. [2]

History

The temple site is located in a paddy field about 2.5 kilometers south of the coast of Nanao city facing the Nanao Bay on the east coast of Noto Peninsula. The name of the neighbourhood is Kokubu, indicating that the now-vanished provincial capital of Noto Province was located in the close vicinity. As the result of an excavation survey conducted over three years from 1954, traces of the Lecture Hall, Pagoda, middle gate, southern gate, etc. were detected as well as the foundations of the Kon-dō.

The temple is believed to have been constructed in the late Hakuho period as Daiko-ji (大興寺), a family temple for the Noto-no-omi clan, the local rulers of Noto. It was elevated to provincial temple status only in 843 AD, over a century after the creation of the provincial temple system by Emperor Shōmu. One of the reasons for this delay was due to the history of Noto Province. Noto was created out of four districts of Echizen Province in 718, but was abolished and merged with Etchū Province in 741, only to be reestablished in 757, after which it virtually disappears from history for two centuries. The Noto Kokubun-ji burned down after its pagoda caught fire due to lightning in 883. It reappeared briefly in 1532, when records indicate that Hatakeyama Yoshifusa, lord of Nanao Castle made a donation of one koku of rice to the temple, but disappeared from the historical record soon thereafter.

The site is now a public historical park, where visitors can see the foundations of the Nara period buildings, and with reconstructions of some of the gates and walls of the temple complex.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kokubunji". Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  2. ↑ "能登国分寺跡 附建物群跡" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs.
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