1,275 bytes added
, 01:00, 26 December 2012
*''Established: [[604]], [[Hata no Kokatsu|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 Kokatsu|Hata no Kôkatsu]], at the request of [[Shotoku Taishi|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 [[Jizo|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.
{{stub}}
==References==
*Plaques on-site.
[[Category:Temples]]
[[Category:Asuka Period]]