| 3. Identification a) History |
Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixth century from China by way of the Korean Peninsula. In the seventh century in the area around Horyu-ji, the Emperor's son and regent, Prince Regent Shotoku, founded Horyu-ji and Chugu-ji (temple). The Imperial Family later founded Horin-ji, dedicated to the recovery of the Prince. After his death, Hokki-ji was founded on the site where the Prince's palace had formerly been located (Appendix 5, Map indicating the location of the temples in the eighth century). Horyu-ji, which Prince Shotoku founded at the beginning of the seventh century, was destroyed by fire in 670. The structural remains of this original temple still exist below ground in the precincts southeast of the present-day Horyu-ji Sai-in (west temple) compound, and the original temple site is known as the Wakakusa Garan. The temple was rebuilt in the new location from the latter half of the seventh century to the beginning of the eighth century. The rebuilt temple is known today as the Horyu-ji Sai-in. (Appendix 6, Map indicating the arrangement of buildings in the Horyu-ji area in the seventh and eighth centuries). Of the buildings of this period, the lecture hall was destroyed by fire in 925 but was rebuilt in 990. The other major sub-temple at Horyu-ji is the To-in (east temple), which was built in the first half of the eighth century at the site of Prince Shotoku's Ikaruga Palace in dedication to the Prince. Besides Sai-in and To-in, there are several monasteries at Horyu-ji. In ancient times, Buddhist priests lived together in living quarters located around lecture halls, but from about the eleventh century each group -- consisting of a high priest and his disciples -- would establish a small temple and live together there. This was the beginning of the establishment of the Horyu-ji monasteries. Many of the monastic buildings that remain at Horyu-ji now were constructed from the sixteenth to the seventeenth centuries. It was around this time that the construction of Horyu-ji complex as we see it today, including both the Sai-in and the To-in, was completed. In ancient times, Horyu-ji received the protection of the Imperial Family because it was revered as the temple which guarded the empire. Moreover, from about the twelfth century people's respect for and belief in Prince Shotoku became very strong, drawing believers to the temple in great numbers, and Horyu-ji began to prosper due to its fame as the temple which had been established by the Prince. Imperial authorities and successive governments have always offered generous patronage for the maintenance and repair of the temple. During the Meiji Restoration -- which marked the birth of Japan as a modern nation -- Shintoism began to rise in influence. Movements rejecting Buddhism became prevalent, and Horyu-ji began to decline as a result of this trend. But the new government, acknowledging the need to protect cultural properties, enacted the Law for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples in 1897. With this law, the way was opened for the support of scientific investigations and the protection of cultural properties. This law set the foundation for the current Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Hokki-ji is said to have been constructed in the seventh century by Yamashiro-no Oe-no O, Prince Shotoku's son, at the site of the Prince's Okamoto Palace, according to the Prince's will. However, it was destroyed by fire during a political disturbance toward the end of the sixteenth century, and only the Sanjunoto (three-story pagoda) remains. This building, like the other historic buildings of Horyu-ji, is also under the protection of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Appendix 5: Map indicating the locations of the temples in the eighth century Appendix 6: Map indicating the arrangement of buildings in the Horyu-ji area in the seventh and eighth centuries |
