Yakushi-ji

The Yakushi -ji (Japanese薬 师 寺) is a Buddhist temple and the main temple of Hosso sect. It is located in Nishinokyo, the northwestern part of the city of Nara in Japan. In it the Buddha Yakushi is mainly worshiped.

History

Construction of the temple was planned in the year 680 Temmu - tennō to pray in it for the recovery of his seriously ill wife, Jitō. The actual construction (34 ° 29 ' 34 "N, 135 ° 48 ' 1" O34.492745135.800264 ) was created after the death Temmus under the guidance of Empress Jitō in Fujiwara, south of Nara ( the present city of Kashihara ) and was completed in 697 698 or complete. Once the capital of Japan moved to Heijo - kyō ( Nara ) in the year 710, and the Yakushi -ji was relocated there in the year 718, and further expanded. Since the first written records of Japanese language were taken from the period after the move, it is unclear which of the older buildings originate from the Nara period or even from the Asuka period.

Most of the buildings in the temple were over the centuries in civil wars, large fires ( especially in the years 973 and 1528) or other natural disasters such as typhoons destroyed. The eastern pagoda (东 塔, TOTO ) is the only building from the 7th or 8th century, which was not restored. The Western Pagoda (西塔, Saitō ) burned in 1528 completely and was rebuilt in 1981. Except for the eastern pagoda and the eastern Hall (东 院 堂, Tōindō ) come all current buildings from the last decades. The first work was completed in 1976 at the main hall ( Kondō ). After the reconstruction of the Western Pagoda ( 1981) the recent restoration of the Great Prayer Hall (大 讲堂, Daikōdō ) were the largest building completed on the temple grounds, in 2003.

The 33.6 meter high eastern pagoda has apparently over six floors, there are, however, only three. The other " stories " are additional intermediate rooftops ( mokoshi ) and are smaller than the real stories. This roof style is very rare. From the American orientalist and art historian Ernest F. Fenollosa in the 19th century it was referred to as " frozen music ." Also famous is the ornament on the top roof, 10 meters high and three -ton Sorin, which combines not only different, religious symbols in themselves, but also serves as a lightning rod and is important for the structural stability of the pagoda.

1998 Yakushi -ji was explained by other historical monuments in Nara by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The eastern pagoda and the eastern hall are also among the national treasures of Japan.