Virtual Arima County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Gokuraku-ji Temple

 

     According to legend, Prince Shotoku (574-622) founded Gokuraku-ji Temple in 593, when Empress Nukatabe (554-628) started reigning, around where Ishikura Park is located in the east of Arima River.  Its main deity was the Avalokitesvara statue carved by Kuratsukuri Tori, whose grandfather was Shiba Tatto, who had immigrated to Japan from the Asian mainland in 522.

     Gokuraku-ji Temple was destroyed in a flood that struck Arima in 1097.  It was relocated to its current location and rebuilt in 1191 by Kawakami Isei, who had accompanied Priest Ninsai, who had restored Arima Onsen, or the Arima Hot Springs.  Honen (1133-1212) was invited and the temple flourished as a nianfo training center.

     During the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573-1603), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) built the Yunoyama Goten, a bathhouse for his therapeutic baths, next to the main hall.  However, during the Edo Period (1603-1868), the bathhouse was dismantled and moved to Shingetsu-in Temple.  Later, the building was destroyed by fire, but its main gate remains to this day.  The bathhouse was filled in and the priest's quarter was built on top of it.

     The temple burned down in 1774, and was rebuilt in 1782.

     The priest's quarter was partially destroyed in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995.  During its demolition to repair, part of Yunoyama Goten was discovered beneath the foundations of the quarter.  The remains, along with numerous excavated artifacts such as tea utensils and roof tiles, were designated a Kobe City Historic Site in 1997, and the Kobe Municipal Taiko-no-Yu Museum, built on top of the remains, has been open to the public since 1999.

Address: 1642 Arimacho, Kita Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-1401

Phone: 078-904-0235

Ishikura Park

Address: 411-9 Arimacho, Kita Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-1401

Shingetsu-in Temple

Address: 2 Chome-4-31 Nishiyama, Sanda, Hyogo 669-1537

Phone: 079-562-4310

Taiko-no-Yu Museum

Address: 1642 Arimacho, Kita Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-1401

Phone: 078-904-4304