Phone +81 22-256-1883 | ||
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Address 2 Chome-8-28 Kinoshita, Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture 984-0047, Japan Similar Yakushido Station, Provincial temple, Ōsaki Hachimangū, Taga Castle, Aoba Castle | ||
Mutsu Kokubun-ji (陸奥国分寺) in Sendai is the provincial temple of former Mutsu Province, Japan. The later Yakushidō (薬師堂) is an Important Cultural Property.
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History
The Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the kokubunji (国分寺). Destroyed in 1189, Masamune Date rebuilt the complex in 1607 with a Yakushi Hall. In 1903 this was designated an Important Cultural Property.
Mutsu Kokubun-ji
The seven main structures, pagoda, main hall, lecture hall, sutra repository, bell tower, refectory, and dormitory, were enclosed within a roofed earthen wall and accessed via the main gate. Excavations have revealed that this was one of the largest of the provincial temples.