Hōzan-ji
Hōzan-ji is a Buddhist temple in Monzen-machi, Ikoma, Nara, Japan.
Though officially dedicated to the deity Acala, the temple serves as a cult-center of the deity Kangiten and is also called 'Ikoma-Shōten'.
History
The area around Hōzan-ji was originally a place for the training of Buddhist monks. The name of the place at that time was Daishō-Mudō-ji.Mount Ikoma was originally an object of worship for the ancient people in the region, and so this area was selected as a place for religious training. The training area is said to have opened in 655 by En no Gyōja. Many Buddhist monks, including Kūkai, are said to have trained in here.
Hozan-ji started when Tankai re-opened this training area in the 17th century. Tankai set up a statue of Kangiten at this place in 1678, the official year Hozan-ji was established.
In the Edo period, this temple was one of the most popular Buddhist temples in this region.
Cultural properties
This temple has Important [Cultural Properties of Japan|Important Cultural Properties] selected by the Japanese government.- Shishi-Kaku Building
- Five statues of Zushiiri-Mokuzo-Godai-Myōō
- Kenpon-Chosyoku-Kasuga-Mandara-zu
- Kenpon-Choshoku-Aizen-Myōō
- Kenpon-Choshoku-Miroku-Bosatsu
- Five volumes of No-hon, written by Zeami