Gangō-ji

Gangō-ji (元興寺) is an ancient Buddhist temple, that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Nara, Japan.

Gangō-ji
元興寺
Gokurakubō Main Hall
(National Treasure)
Religion
AffiliationShingon Ritsu
DeityChikō Mandala
Location
Location11 Chūin-chō, Nara, Nara Prefecture
CountryJapan
Geographic coordinates34°40′40.09″N 135°49′52.88″E
Architecture
FounderEmpress Suiko and Soga no Umako
Completed593
Website
http://www.gangoji.or.jp/

History

The original foundation of the temple was by Soga no Umako in Asuka, as Asuka-dera. The temple was moved to Nara in 718, following the capital relocation to Heijō-kyō.

Gangō-ji initially held as many as seven halls and pagodas in its precincts, which occupied a wide area within what is now Naramachi, the preserved district of modern Nara city. The original architecture was lost in fires during the 15th through 19th centuries (Muromachi and Edo periods respectively).[1]

Architecture
Gangō-ji Gokurakubo zenshitsu
Gangō-ji miniature pagoda

The best preserved part of the temple is known as Gangō-ji Gokurakubō (元興寺極楽坊) and belongs to the Shingon-risshū school. This site is a part of a group of temples, shrines and other places in Nara that UNESCO has designated as World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", and holds three national treasures:

  • the Gokurakubō (極楽坊), which is one of the few well-preserved structures of the temple,
  • the Zen room
  • the miniature (5.5 meters tall) five-story pagoda

Most of the destroyed complex ground has been altered and melded with parts of Naramachi over the course of time. Another small part of the temple remains today as the other Gangō-ji, of a Kegon school but with few remainders in terms of architecture.

Gangō-ji in the Man'yōshū

The Man'yōshū includes a poem attributed to a monk of Gango-ji. This poet laments that, having attained enlightenment, his greater understanding remains unnoticed by others in the streets of Nara. His poem may perhaps bemoan his undervalued condition—and yet, in a modest way, his words transport contemporary readers momentarily back to share his quiet, 8th century perspective:

A White gem unknown of men --
Be it so if no one knows!
Since I myself know its worth
Although no other --
Be it so if no one knows!
-- A monk of the Gango-ji Temple[2]
gollark: You haven't heard of Karl Gruen?
gollark: This would only be better if workers would be allowed to decide between themselves to work, and by means of political means they would have a higher power. The chief representative and classical type of this tendency is Mr Karl Gruen. In particular, it may be seen that at work it is not possible to produce more workers and more people, if this is the case. Bourgeois Socialism attains adequate expression when, and only when, it becomes a mere figureof speech. It is an attitude which allows the individual to express his own mind without any kind of form of communication, but can be regarded as a mere expression of the mind.
gollark: If I post a large wall of text, it is *generally* copied off the internet.
gollark: Heav.
gollark: In some sense.

See also

Notes
  1. Pamphlet printed by 元興寺文化財研究所 (Gangō-ji bunkazai kenkyūsho), distributed on site for visitors
  2. Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai. (1969). The Manyōshū, p. 237.


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