安部文殊院 Abe-monju-in Abe Monjuin Temple
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Abe Monjuin located in Sakurai City, Nara Pref. is a temple of Kegon Sect. Its Sango (the name of the mountain on which it is located) is Abe-san. It is formally named “Abe-san Suikyoji Monjuin.” This temple is said to have been founded by Abe no Kurahashimaro, the Minister of the Left, in the year of Great Reformation of the Taika Era (645). It was relocated to the present place in the Kamakura period (1192-1333) and was so flourished as to be counted as one of 15 Large Temples in Yamato. It was, however, destroyed by fire during a battle in 1563, and was rebuilt later in 1665. The main object of worship is the image of Kishi Monju Bosatsu (Monju Bodhisattva in riding-lion form), which is a colorfully painted wooden image carved by Kaikei, a master Buddhist sculptor in the Kamakura period. It is the largest Monju Bosatsu in Japan. Abe Monjuin together with “Kirido no Monju” at Chioin Temple in Amanohashidate in Kyoto Pref. and “Kameoka no Monju” in Oshu-Nagai, Yamagata Pref. is counted as one of the 3 Large Monju Bosatsu in Japan. As Monju Bosatsu is the Japanese Buddhist deity of study and education, the temple is visited by a lot of students taking an entrance examination to a university.
- address
- 645 Abe, Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, 633-0054
- name
- Abe Monjuin Temple
- phone
- 0744-43-0002
- hp
- http://www.abemonjuin.or.jp/