Hokkiji nunnery, (in) Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, JP

Raw data

In the Hôryûji temple records, an entry of 747 reports that Ikejiri nunnery (an alternative name for Hokkiji according to Shittenôji records of 771) was one of seven temples built by Prince Regent Shôtoku (Asuka period, reign of Empress Suiko). A metal inscription on the three-story pagoda states that in his will of 22 February 622 Prince Shôtoku instructed his eldest son Prince Yamashiro no Ôe to convert his Okamoto palace into a temple. Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered part of the original building under the temple grounds. Prince Ôe donated to the new temple fiefs of 12 cho of land in Yamato province and 30 cho in Omi province. (1 cho = 0.9917 hectares = 2.451 acres. - http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Japanese_units_of_measurement). In 638, High Priest Fukuryo built the main hall and in 685, High Priest Ese added the treasure pagoda, which bears a metal inscription cast in March 706.
-http://www.horyuji.or.jp/hokiji_e.htm
-http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/法起寺

“The only original building remaining is the 24m-high three-storied pagoda, which is the oldest of its kind in Japan, is a national treasure. The lecture hall is a 1694 reconstruction, and Shōten-do hall is an 1863 reconstruction.”
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokki-ji

The three-story pagoda is built in the Hôryûji style of architecture. Its distinctive cloud-shaped brackets, supporting the eves, resemble the cloud designs in the wall paintings of a Koguryo-period Korean tomb of 668.
- Inoue (1969: 124)

Src: Japan

Input by: Lizbeth H. Piel, Aug 31, 2009

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 24 Apr 2013

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Hokki-ji nunnery, JP.

General location of the Hokki-ji nunnery, JP.
lat=34.622778 long=135.746111
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.622778+135.746111+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Hokkiji%20nunnery,%20JP)&ll=34.622778,135.746111&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Hokkiji 法起寺. Alternative English spelling: Hokki-ji

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Japan: Nara Prefecture

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates


5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries


6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

  • Okamoto
  • Note: the town of Ikaruga was created in 1947, when a smaller township, Tatta-chô, and a hamlet, Tomi-sato, were merged. - Nihon chimei jiten (1998: 78).

8. The settlement's coordinates

  • [missing data]

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Mahayana

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • Probably Sanron sect. After 1868: Shingon, Hossô, and Shôtoku sects.

11. Date-early

  • MBM chrono-tag 0633-66c - tmciolek 24 Apr 2013
  • 0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c 1200=> dated-el

12. Date-intermediate


13. Date-late

  • MBM chrono-tag 1200=> - tmciolek 24 Apr 2013

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries


15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Architecture, temple documents

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data].

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

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