Gangō-ji

Gangō-ji 元興寺
Gokurakubō Main Hall (National Treasure)
Religion
Affiliation	Shingon Ritsu
Deity	Chikō Mandala
Location
Location	11 Chūin-chō, Nara, Nara Prefecture
Country	Japan
Geographic coordinates	34°40′40.09″N 135°49′52.88″E
Architecture
Founder	Empress Suiko and Soga no Umako
Completed	593
Website
www.gangoji.or.jp

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

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.

In the Man'yōshū

^[relevant?]

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]

See also

• Asuka-dera
• Gangōji Garan Engi, a historical text of the temple
• List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures)
• List of National Treasures of Japan (temples)
• Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples of Nanto.

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.

External links

• Gangoji Temple, from The Official Nara Travel Guide Archived 5 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine