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Zenkô-ji is a major temple of the [[Tendai]] [[Jodo shu|Jôdo]] sect, located in [[Nagano]]. The temple is believed to have been founded during the reign of [[Empress Suiko]] (r. [[593]]-[[628]]), and during the [[Tokugawa period]] became patronized by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], and made a branch temple of [[Kan'ei-ji]].
Zenkô-ji is a major temple of the [[Tendai]] [[Jodo shu|Jôdo]] sect, located in [[Nagano]]. The temple is believed to have been founded during the reign of [[Empress Suiko]] (r. [[593]]-[[628]]), and during the [[Tokugawa period]] became patronized by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], and made a branch temple of [[Kan'ei-ji]].
A statue of [[Amida]] held at the temple is particularly famous; a ''hibutsu'' (hidden Buddha) sculpture believed to have been brought to Japan from China in [[552]],<ref name=screech95>Timon Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 95-96.</ref> it is never shown to the public. It was traditionally believed to be not simply a spiritually efficacious image of Amida, but to be the living incarnation of Amida himself; [[Shogun]] [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] is said to have improperly viewed it twice in [[1195]], and claimed that between the two times, the hands had moved. Due to popular interest and devotion to the image, the temple produced a number of replicas which it put on display, though eventually some of these replicas came to be considered sacred enough to also be hidden away from sight.<ref>Screech, 120.</ref>
The original Zenkô-ji Amida was removed to [[Hoko-ji|Hôkô-ji]] by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], who sought to elevate the power and prestige of that temple. As it is meant to never be seen, it was transported inside a closed box, and is believed to have never been seen by anyone throughout the process of transportation, nor during its time at Hôkô-ji. At some point, the sculpture was returned to Zenkô-ji.<ref name=screech95/>
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==References==
==References==
*Arai Hakuseki, Joyce Ackroyd (trans.), ''Told Round a Brushwood Fire'', University of Tokyo Press (1979), 292n124.
*Arai Hakuseki, Joyce Ackroyd (trans.), ''Told Round a Brushwood Fire'', University of Tokyo Press (1979), 292n124.
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[[Category:Temples]]
[[Category:Temples]]