Murō-ji

The five-storied pagoda of Murō-ji

Murō-ji (室生寺) is a temple of Omoto school of Shingon Buddhism, located in the city of Uda, Nara, Japan.

Murō-ji shows its typical aspect of Shingon Buddhism, with its buildings laid on the mountainside of Mount Murō (室生山, Murō-san).

Unlike many temples of the time, Murō-ji was opened to females.^[1] For that reason, the temple is also called Mount Kōya for women.

Overview[]

While legend has it that the temple was opened by En no Gyōja by order of Emperor Tenmu, later restored by Kūkai, an extant record kept by the temple, Murō-ji ryaku engi (室生寺略縁起), tells that a successful ritual in respect of a ryūjin to cure Prince Yamabe's (later to become Emperor Kanmu) made the imperial court order a monk of Kōfuku-ji named Kenkyō (賢璟) to construct a temple on the site. The construction of the temple was taken over by a pupil monk Shūen (修円), after Kenkyō's death in 793.

Among the buildings that remain from the ninth century is the five-storied pagoda, which is the smallest of the kind standing in the open air. The pagoda suffered major damage in a 1998 typhoon, when a falling tree struck it. It was restored over the following two years.

In Edo period, the temple buildings were repaired by donation of , mother of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.

About a kilometer east of the temple is located , enshrining the ryūjin.

See also[]

• Zennyo Ryūō
• List of National Treasures of Japan (temples)
• List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings)
• List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures)
• For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism.

References[]

• Young, David; Michiko Young; Tan Hong Yew; Ben Simmons; Murata Noboru (2007). The Art of Japanese Architecture. Tuttle Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 0-8048-3838-0.
• Mimura, Isao (三村威左男) (2005). Five-storied pagodas in Japan (日本の五重塔総覧) (in Japanese). Bungeisha. p. 185. ISBN 4-8355-9083-X.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Murouji.

• (in Japanese) Murō-ji Temple

Coordinates: 34°32′16.39″N 136°2′26.22″E / 34.5378861°N 136.0406167°E / 34.5378861; 136.0406167