| Sanuki Kokubun-niji ruins | |
| Native Name: | 讃岐国分尼寺跡 |
| Map Relief: | 1 |
| Location: | Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan |
| Type: | Buddhist temple ruins |
| Founder: | c.Emperor Shōmu |
| Built: | Nara period |
The is an archaeological site with the ruins of a Nara period Buddhist nunnery in the Kokubunji neighborhood of the city of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture Japan. Its ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1928.[1]
The Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a major smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the .[2] [3] These temples were built to a semi-standardized template, and served both to spread Buddhist orthodoxy to the provinces, and to emphasize the power of the Nara period centralized government under the Ritsuryō system.[4] While the sites of most of the kokubun-ji monasteries are either known or have been discovered, very few sites of the kokubun-niji nunneries are known.
The Sanuki Kokubun-niji site is located approximately two kilometers northeast of the Sanuki Kokubun-ji. The site occupies a trapezoidal compound 180-210 meters east-to-west by 180 meters north-to-south and per archaeological excavations conducted in 1982 was found to contain 19 foundation stones from what is presumed to have been the Main Hall of the nunnery, as well a roof tiles and bricks. The spacing and orientation of the foundations indicates a seven by four bay building. It is believed that the Lecture Hall and residence was lined up from south to north, as a further excavation has found more large foundation stones scatters on the north side of the precinct, with a rain drainage ditch in parallel. However, excavations are hampered by the presence of a later Buddhist temple, Hokke-ji, which now occupies the approximate center of the site, and many details of the original Nara-period temple remain uncertain.[5]
The site is about a 20-minute walk from Hashioka Station on the JR Shikoku Yosan Line.[5]