Mutsu Kokubun-ji Yakushidō

Mutsu Kokubunji Yakushidō in Sendai

Mutsu Kokubun-ji (陸奥国分寺^?) in Sendai is the provincial temple of former Mutsu Province, Japan. The later Yakushidō (薬師堂^?) is an Important Cultural Property.

History

The Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the kokubunji (国分寺^?).^[1][2] Destroyed in 1189, Masamune Date rebuilt the complex in 1607 with a Yakushi Hall.^[3][4][5] In 1903 this was designated an Important Cultural Property.^[6]

Mutsu Kokubun-ji

The seven main structures, pagoda, main hall, lecture hall, sutra repository, bell tower, refectory, and dormitory, were enclosed within a roofed earthen wall and accessed via the main gate. Excavations have revealed that this was one of the largest of the provincial temples.^[2]

See also

• Provincial temple

References

1. ^ Brown, Delmer M. (1993). Cambridge History of Japan vol. I. Cambridge University Press. p. 255. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Yiengpruksawan, Mimi Hall (1998). Hiraizumi: Buddhist Art and Regional Politics in Twelfth-Century Japan. Harvard University Press. pp. 22f. 
3. ^ "Mutsu Kokubunji Temple - Yakushidō Hall". Tokyo Chizu Publishing. http://www.japan-i.jp/explorejapan/tohoku/miyagi/sendai/d8jk7l000002r67y.html. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
4. ^ "Mutsu Kokubunji Yakushidō (in Japanese)". MiyaginoTabi. http://miyagitabi.com/wakabayasi/yakusidou/. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
5. ^ "Mutsu Kokubunji Yakushidō (in Japanese)". Miyagi Prefecture. http://www.pref.miyagi.jp/bunkazai/siteibunkazai/miyagi-no-bunkazai/01kenzoubutu/kuni/08kokubunji.htm. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
6. ^ "Database of Registered National Cultural Properties". Agency for Cultural Affairs. http://www.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails.asp?register_id=102&item_id=123. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 

External links