Hashi-dera

• Established: 604, Hata no Kôkatsu
• Japanese: 橋寺放生院 (hashidera houjou-in)

Hashi-dera Hôjô-in is a Buddhist temple associated with Uji Bridge. It is said to have been founded in 604 by Hata no Kôkatsu, at the request of Shôtoku Taishi.

The temple, along with the bridge, has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. On one such occasion, in 1286, the temple was rebuilt by Eison, head priest of Saidai-ji in Nara. He oversaw the construction of a 13-story pagoda on an outcropping out into the river, and held a special ritual called daijôjô-e, which involved the release of birds. Since then, the temple has come to be known not simply as Hashi-dera (lit. "bridge temple"), but as Hashidera Hôjô-in, after that ritual.

The chief object of worship at Hashidera Hôjô-in is a Kamakura period sculpture of Jizô Bodhisattva. The grounds also feature a stone monument commemorating the initial construction of Uji Bridge - the upper section of this monument, known as Ujibashi danpi, is considered the oldest stone monument fragment in Japan.

References

• Plaques on-site.