Hokke-ji (Gifu)
Encyclopedia
is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon school
Shingon Buddhism
is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist lineages that started in the 3rd to 4th century CE that originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra...

 located in Gifu
Gifu, Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...

, Gifu Prefecture
Gifu Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Though its formal name is Hokke-ji, it is more well known by its unofficial name, Mitahora Kōbō (三田洞弘法).

It is located in the foothills of Mount Dodo
Mount Dodo
, or Mount Dodogamine, is located in the northern part of the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan it is in height, making it the tallest mountain in the city...

, the largest mountain in the city of Gifu. Also, it is the fifteenth of the Mino Thirty-three Kannon
Mino Thirty-three Kannon
The are a collection of Buddhist temples in southern Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The name is derived from Mino Province, the former name for the area...

.

History

The temple was originally built in 816, by Kūkai
Kukai
Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

 under the orders of Emperor Saga
Emperor Saga
was the 52nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign spanned the years from 809 through 823.-Traditional narrative:...

. Kūkai's posthumous name was "Kōbō Daishi" (弘法大師), giving rise to the temple's alternate name.

Burnt to the ground by fire in 1620, it was consumed by fire and not rebuilt until 1623. Sixty-one years later, in 1684, it was moved to its current location.

Festivals

  • February 3 - Setsubun
    Setsubun
    is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. The name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the...

    Star Festival
  • 21st of every month - Kōbō Daishi Memorial Service
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