Скачать или смотреть Virtual Tour | Daishō-in (大聖院): 1200 Year-Old Great Holy Temple w. Buddhist Icons & Golden Lanterns

The sacred island of Miyajima, south of Hiroshima, is packed with shrines and temples. Established in 806 CE by Kukai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, Daishō-in Temple (大聖院) is the 14th on the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage route (all temples dedicated to the goddess of mercy, Kannon). It is the most important temple on Miyajima, especially owing to its claim to have been founded by Kukai, Japanese Buddhism’s most important figure. As one walks up the temple steps there is a row of spinning metal wheels inscribed with sutras (Buddhist scriptures), which can be turned as you walk up (and it is said that it is the same as reading them and receiving their blessings).

There are a variety of buildings, statues and other religious objects. One such building, Daishi Hall, is a cave filled with 88 icons representing the temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. The room is lit up by hundreds of traditional, golden lanterns hanging from the ceiling, creating a unique golden light in the room. There are hundreds of small statues of sitting monks as you walk around the hall.

The furious looking “Fudo-myo-o, or Immovable King, is an incarnated figure of Dainichi Nyorai, or Cosmic Buddha. The image is characterized by the fierce face to show his determination to destroy evil. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of three great unifiers of Japan in the 16th century, prayed to this image for safety at sea and victory in battle.” (Miyajima Tourist Association)

Emperor Toba founded his prayer hall in the temple in the 12th century and the temple had close links to the imperial family up to the 19th century and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration - the end of the shogun’s rule in Japan, though Emperor Meiji did stay there in 1885.

As with many ancient sites, over its 1200 years Daishō-in has suffered damage from fires and typhoons (but apparently not war).

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