Shiramizu Amidadō Explained

Shiramizu Amida-dō
Native Name:	白水阿弥陀堂
Native Name Lang:	ja
Map Type:	Japan Fukushima Prefecture#Japan
Relief:	1
Location:	219 Hirobatake, Uchigo Shiramizu-chō, Iwaki-shi, Fukushima-ken
Coordinates:	37.0364°N 140.8372°W
Religious Affiliation:	Buddhist
Rite:	Shingon-shū Chizan-ha
Country:	Japan
Functional Status:	functional
Founded By:	Tokuhime
Year Completed:	1160

, is a chapel located within the Buddhist temple of in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The Amida-dō is a National Treasure and the temple, with its paradise garden, has been designated an National Historic Site.^[1]

History

The temple of Ganjō-ji was built in 1160 by Princess Tokuhime, daughter of Fujiwara no Kiyohira of the Hiraizumi Fujiwara clan, as a memorial temple for her husband, Iwaki Norimichi.^[2] ^[3] ^[4] The temple was granted imperial status by Emperor Go-Toba, and was protected and patronized by successive of Iwakitaira Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate in the Edo period. The temple converted at some point from the Pure Land to the Shingon denomination and remains an active temple; however, the Pure Land Garden, including the pond, is now owned and managed by Iwaki City.

The temple was closed to the public due to the damage caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, but restoration was completed in July 2012 and the temple reopened.

Buildings

Amida-dō (National Treasure); built in 1660. The building is a square structure with a thatched tented roof consisting of very thin layers of wood shingles. Inside, the walls were once covered with mural paintings, of which only a fragment remains. Along with Mōtsū-ji in Hiraizumi and a structure of Kōzō-ji in Kakuda, Miyagi, it is one of only three surviving structures of the Heian period in the Tōhoku region of Japan. The Amida-do is surrounded by ponds on all three sides: east, west, and south, and there is a worship path from the south.

Treasures

Inside the Amidadō are five statues:^[3]

Wooden Amida Nyōrai triad (Heian period) (Important Cultural Properties)^[5]
Wooden statue of Jikokuten (Heian period) (ICP)^[6]
Wooden statue of Tamonten (Heian period) (ICP)^[7]

Gardens

Between 1972 and 1982 archaeological investigations were conducted into the pond, pebble beach, ornamental stones, peninsula, central island, and bridges of the twelfth-century paradise garden.^[8]

Notes and References

Web site: Database of Registered National Cultural Properties . https://archive.today/20120729082500/https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/401/382 . dead . 29 July 2012 . . 4 May 2011 .
Web site: Database of Registered National Cultural Properties . https://archive.today/20120722154508/https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/204 . dead . 22 July 2012 . . 4 May 2011 .
Web site: Shiramizu Amida Temple . . 4 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110725231055/http://www.city.iwaki.fukushima.jp/gaikokugo/english/3846/4552/4990/004520.html . 25 July 2011 .
Web site: Shiramizu Amida-do . . 4 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110725054039/http://fuku-tabi.jp/en/sightseeing/2010/03/000052.html . 25 July 2011 .
Web site: Database of Registered National Cultural Properties . https://archive.today/20120721225550/https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/201/2731 . dead . 21 July 2012 . . 4 May 2011 .
Web site: Database of Registered National Cultural Properties . https://archive.today/20120720185041/https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/201/2732 . dead . 20 July 2012 . . 4 May 2011 .
Web site: Database of Registered National Cultural Properties . https://archive.today/20120730044329/https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/201/00011114 . dead . 30 July 2012 . . 4 May 2011 .
Web site: Archaeologically Investigated Japanese Gardens Database . . 4 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070318004604/http://mokuren.nabunken.go.jp/scripts/strieve.exe . 18 March 2007 .