Affiliation Nichiren sect Country Japan Completed 741 | Deity Shaka Nyorai Founder Emperor Shomu Phone +81 55-975-2036 | |
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Location Izumi-chō 12-31, Mishima-shi, Shizuoka 411-0037 Address 12-31 Izumicho, Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture 411-0037, Japan Similar Mishima‑Hirokōji Station, Mishima Taisha, Mishima‑Tamachi Station, Provincial temple, Shirataki Park | ||
Izu Kokubun-ji (伊豆国分寺) is a small Buddhist temple in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It contains the foundation stones for one of the original provincial temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by the Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). Due to this connection, the temple grounds and main hall have been designated as a National Historic Site by the Japanese government.
History
Izu Kokubun-ji was founded in 741 as the provincial temple of Izu Province. It was converted at some uncertain time to the Shingon sect, and was burned down repeatedly in the incessant battles between the forces the Takeda clan and the Odawara Hōjō clan during the Sengoku period. In the early Edo period, it converted to the Nichiren sect and was completely rebuilt; however, these buildings were all destroyed by the 1855 Ansei Edo earthquake and the site was abandoned.
In 1923, the temple was rebuilt again as Shoren-ji (称蓮寺), and was renamed to Izu Kokubun-ji in 1954. Archaeological investigations were conducted in 1956. The foundations of the South Gate, Central Gate, Kondō and Lecture Hall were discovered, as wells as the foundations of the surrounding cloister. Outside of the main complex, eight foundation stones of the original Nara-period Kokubun-ji’s pagoda were uncovered, immediately behind the present temple’s Hondō. The site was proclaimed a National Historic Site on May 15, 1956.