Takkoku-no-Iwaya
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Takkoku-no-Iwaya
| native_name = 達谷窟
| image = 230728 Takkoku-no-iwaya Bishamondo Hiraizumi Iwate pref Japan01s3.jpg
| image_size = 300
| alt =
| caption = Takkoku no Iwaya
| map_type = Japan Iwate Prefecture#Japan
| relief = 1
| map_caption =
| location =
| coordinates = {{coord|38.96901282|N|141.0581363|E|display=inline|format=dms|type:landmark_region:JP_scale:10000|name=Takkoku-no-Iwaya}}
| religious_affiliation = Buddhist
| rite = Tendai
| deity = Bishamon-ten
| country = Japan
| functional_status = functional
| website = {{Official|1=http://www.iwayabetto.com/}}
| founded_by =Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
| year_completed = 801 AD
| footnotes = {{box|background=white|align=center|wide=yes|border size=3px|border color=brown|text align=center|National Historic Site of Japan}}
}}
{{nihongo|Takkoku-no-Iwaya |達谷窟||}} is a Tendai sect Buddhist temple in Hiraizumi in southern Iwate Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. Its main image is a stone image of Bishamon-ten. Its formal name is the {{nihongo|Takkoku no Iwaya Bishamon-do|達谷窟毘沙門堂||}}. The grounds have been designated a National Historic Site since 2005{{cite web |url=http://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails.asp?register_id=401&item_id=3414 |title=達谷窟 |trans-title=Takkoku-no-Iwaya |publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs |accessdate=3 August 2012}}
Overview
Takkoku no Iwaya is located approximately six kilometers southwest of Hiraizumi, between the center of town and Genbikei ravine. The temple is built below an overhanging cliff, and incorporates a shallow cave containing a bas-relief statue of Bishamon-ten. In the Heian period, a large statue of Fudō Myōō (designated an Iwate Prefectural Cultural Property) and a bas-relief image of Buddha carved into the rock face were added.
The temple claims to have been founded by the imperial dynasty Chinjufu-shōgun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in 801 AD to commemorate his victory over the local Emishi tribes, who had used this cave as a fortification. The temple was described in the Kamakura period chronicle, Azuma Kagami.
The temple has burned down many times and its original form is unknown today; the current building dates from 1961 and was modeled after the famous Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.
Takkoku-no-Iwaya was included in the original 2006 nomination of "Hiraizumi - Cultural Landscape Associated with Pure Land Buddhist Cosmology”,{{cite web|url=http://www.pref.iwate.jp/~hp0907/sekaiisan/index2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517153509/http://www.pref.iwate.jp/~hp0907/sekaiisan/index2.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 May 2006 |script-title=ja:世界遺産の概要 |trans-title=World Heritage Site: summary |language=Japanese |publisher=Iwate Prefecture |accessdate=3 August 2012 }} but was removed from the nomination after the failure to secure inscription in 2008; although there are continuing efforts to secure its inclusion through future extension.{{cite web |url=http://www.mext.go.jp/english/topics/1308580.htm |title=Report on the 35th World Heritage Committee Session Decision Results for: "Hiraizumi- Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land" |publisher=Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology |accessdate=3 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722201358/http://www.mext.go.jp/english/topics/1308580.htm |archivedate=22 July 2011 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20110618f1.html |title=Temple hopes for UNESCO nod and big cheer for Iwate |author=Corkill, Edan |work=The Japan Times |date=18 June 2011 |accessdate=3 August 2012}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Takkoku-no-iwaya Bishamondo}}
- [http://www.japan-iwate.info/app/location_detail.php?lid=8 Iwate Prefectural Tourism Organization]
- [http://hiraizumi.or.jp/en/archive/sightseeing/takkoku.html Hiraizumi Touism Association]
- [http://www.iwayabetto.com/ official home page]
{{Buddhist temples in Japan}}
Category:Buddhist temples in Iwate Prefecture
Category:Historic Sites of Japan
Category:9th-century establishments in Japan
Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in the 800s