Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Nihon-ji Temple

 

     Nihon-ji Temple was founded in 725 by Gyoki (668–749) as a Hosso Sect temple. Tradition has it that the temple was visited by Roben (689–774), a monk of the Kegon sect and the founder of Todai-ji Temple in Nara, and later by Kukai (774–835), the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism. In 857, Ennin (794–864) visited the temple and transferred it to the Tendai school of Buddhism.

     In 1271, the area came under the control of the Nikaido Clan, and Nihon-ji Temple was burned during a local conflict in 1331, when the Genko Incident broke out countrywide between the Kamakura Shogunate and Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339).  The emperor succeeded in turning down the shogunate, but was turned down by another shogunate, the Muromachi Shogunate.  Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), the founder and first shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, rebuilt Nihon-ji Temple.

    At the end of the 16th century, Nihon-ji Temple came under the protection of the Satomi Clan. In 1647, the temple was transferred to the Soto Zen Sect, and Nihon-ji became a center of ascetic Zen practices in the territory of the Satomi Clan. Nihon-ji came under the control of Enmei-ji, a temple in present-day Minamiboso. During the Warring States Period, the temple fell into decline and even into ruin.

     In 1774, the priest Guden, the 9th chief Hoso priest of Nihon-ji Temple, carried out a large-scale revival of the temple complex. In 1774, Guden relocated the temple buildings to the southern side of the middle of Mt. Nokogiri, which was, accordingly, transformed into a sacred mountain. The Nihon-ji Giant Buddha Statue was built in this period, as well as the 1,553 Arhat stone statues.

     Nihon-ji Temple suffered much destruction during the anti-Buddhist movement (1868-1874) after the Meiji Restoration. Many of the structures of the temple complex in the precincts were destroyed.  Many of the Arhat statues were also beheaded in this period.

     In 1916, the restoration of the temple complex of Nihon-ji Temple began. A major earthquake in November 1939, however, again damaged the temple. The main hall, statues, and treasured Buddhist articles were lost in a fire.

     In 1989, the government of India presented Nihon-ji Temple with a sapling from the Bodhi Tree, wishing for the world peace.

Address: 184 Motona, Kyonan, Awa District, Chiba 299-2100

Phone: 0470-55-1103