ZENKOJI TEMPLE

Zenkoji Temple is a famous for a 7th century Buddhist temple, Zenkoji (善光寺). Nagano city, established in 1897, was once a town built around the Zenkoji Temple. Zenkoji Temple is perhaps most famous for its involvement in the battles between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen in the 16th century, when it served as one of Kenshin's bases of operations. Zenkoji Temple is a classic Japanese temple.

Zenkoji Buddhist temple Nagano by Fg2

Zenkoji belongs to both the Tendai and Jodo Shinshu schools of Buddhism, and is co-managed by 25 priests from the former School and 14 from the latter. It enshrines images of the Amida Buddha, the primary one of which is a hibutsu, a hidden Buddha, which is not normally shown to the public. This hibutsu is rumored to be the first Buddha statue to ever be brought ot Japan. There is also a passage under the temple where worshippers, in complete darkness, try to touch a key hanging on the wall in order to gain enlightenment. The key represents the Key to the Western Paradise of the Amida Buddha.

The hidden Buddha statue, or hibutsu, is shown once every six or seven years, and attracts many worshippers. The last time it was on display, in 2003, Zenkoji joined with Motozenkoji and the Zenkoji of Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, in discussions. The hibutsu will be on display next in 2010.

History of Zenkoji Temple

Zenkoji was originally built during the reign of the Emperor Kimmei, in the 6th century, but was moved several times before coming to its present location. The current site, in what was then Motozen village, was originally called Motozenkoji.

At the end of the Kamakura period (1185-1333), many temples copied Zenkoji's famous Buddha statue, and many new temples were built around the country calling themselves 'Zenkoji' or 'Shin-Zenkoji' (New Zenkoji).

In the Sengoku period, when Zenkoji became involved in the struggles between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, the chief abbot was afraid it would be burnt to the ground. He built a new Zenkoji in what is now Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, which still stands. In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi moved the hibutsu to Kyoto, and then to Shinano. The hibutsu and the Zenkoji temple itself have since been moved once more back to Nagano.

Zenkoji Buddhist temple Nagano by Fg2

(Article based on Wikipedia article and used under the GNU Free Documentation License)