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Buddhist in Japan


Buddhist in Japan

Horyuji Temple, Horyuji
Horyuji Temple, Horyuji
Buddhism has had a profound impact on Japan ever since it was introduced in the 6th century. Like shrines, temples can be found in every city, and many different sects exist. Some of the holiest sites are made up of large complexes on mountaintops and include Mount Koya (Japan's most prestigious place to be buried and head temple of Shingon Buddhism), Mount Hiei (set here when Kyoto became the capital to remove Buddhism from politics, the head of the Tendai sect of Buddhism), and Mount Osore (considered to be the "Gateway to Hell", it features many monuments and graves in a volcanic wasteland). Many of the nations head temples are located in Kyoto, like the Honganji Temples and Chion-in Temple. Kyoto also has five of the top Zen temples named in the "Five Mountain System" (Tenryuji, Shokokuji, Kenninji, Tofukuji, and Manjuji), along with Nanzenji Temple, which sits above all the temples outside of the mountain system. Although there are "five" temples, Kyoto and Kamakura both have their own five. The Kamakura temple's are Kenchoji, Engakuji, Jufukuji, Jochiji, and Jomyoji Temples. Eiheiji Temple is also a prominent Zen temple, although it was never part of the mountain system. Nara's Todaiji Temple and Kamakura's Kotokuin Temple are famous for their large Buddhist statues. Todaiji's is the largest in the nation, while the Kamakura Daibutsu is the second largest, meditating outside in the open air. Horyuji Temple in Horyuji, just south of Nara, is the world's oldest wooden structure. The beautiful Phoenix Hall in Uji is seen by most visitors to Japan on the back of the ten yen coin, if not in real-life.

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Japan Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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