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Shitennōji Temple
Established in 593 by Prince Shōtoku (574–622), Shitennōji Temple was the first state-sponsored Buddhist temple in Japan, and its history is closely tied with the spread of Buddhism throughout the country.
When Prince Shōtoku was born, Buddhism was still a new and foreign religion recently introduced by diplomats from the Asian mainland. It was promoted by the Soga clan, which had ties to the Korean Peninsula, but some clans, such as the militaristic Mononobe clan, considered it hostile to the native faiths. This, along with imperial succession disputes, sparked a feud between the two clans, led by statesmen Soga no Umako (551?–626) and Mononobe no Moriya (d. 587). Young Prince Shōtoku, who believed in the merits of both Buddhism and native animism, fought on the side of the Soga clan. He carved small statues of the Four Heavenly Kings (Shitennō), the protectors of Buddhism, and carried those statues into battle, promising that he would build a temple in their honor if the Soga prevailed. The Soga clan defeated the Mononobe in 587, and Prince Shōtoku fulfilled his promise.
As a statesman, Prince Shōtoku went on to enact reforms in the court and oversee diplomatic relations. The temple he established here had halls for worship and preaching the Buddhist faith, as well as facilities to provide education, medical treatment, and welfare to the public. Prince Shōtoku was deified after his death, and he continues to be venerated today, even in schools of Japanese Buddhism that developed many centuries later. This is why Shitennōji Temple, the head temple of the Wa School of Japanese Buddhism, is also a holy site for many other schools.
The majority of the temple buildings have been destroyed many times by natural disasters and war, most recently during the firebombing of Osaka in World War II. The oldest extant buildings date to the early seventeenth century, and the stone torii gate has stood at the west entrance since 1294. The buildings of the central temple, reconstructed in the 1960s on the basis of written records and archaeological evidence, are faithful recreations of the original sixth-century structures. Although Japanese temples follow a variety of layouts, Shitennōji has a unique linear arrangement of buildings along a north-south axis. Known as the shitennōji-shiki garan, or Shitennōji-style complex, the orientation of the South Gate, Middle Gate, Five-Story Pagoda, Main Hall, and Lecture Hall is one of the oldest temple layouts in Japan. The restoration of other parts of Shitennōji is an ongoing process, and it is still overseen by the same construction company that has constructed the temple’s buildings for centuries.
Shitennōji is visited by pilgrims from all over Japan, especially for its association with Prince Shōtoku and for rites to lead the deceased to the Pure Land paradise. It is also closely associated with the city of Osaka, where it functions as a local neighborhood temple, providing lectures, rites, and other services to the Buddhist community.
When Prince Shōtoku was born, Buddhism was still a new and foreign religion recently introduced by diplomats from the Asian mainland. It was promoted by the Soga clan, which had ties to the Korean Peninsula, but some clans, such as the militaristic Mononobe clan, considered it hostile to the native faiths. This, along with imperial succession disputes, sparked a feud between the two clans, led by statesmen Soga no Umako (551?–626) and Mononobe no Moriya (d. 587). Young Prince Shōtoku, who believed in the merits of both Buddhism and native animism, fought on the side of the Soga clan. He carved small statues of the Four Heavenly Kings (Shitennō), the protectors of Buddhism, and carried those statues into battle, promising that he would build a temple in their honor if the Soga prevailed. The Soga clan defeated the Mononobe in 587, and Prince Shōtoku fulfilled his promise.
As a statesman, Prince Shōtoku went on to enact reforms in the court and oversee diplomatic relations. The temple he established here had halls for worship and preaching the Buddhist faith, as well as facilities to provide education, medical treatment, and welfare to the public. Prince Shōtoku was deified after his death, and he continues to be venerated today, even in schools of Japanese Buddhism that developed many centuries later. This is why Shitennōji Temple, the head temple of the Wa School of Japanese Buddhism, is also a holy site for many other schools.
The majority of the temple buildings have been destroyed many times by natural disasters and war, most recently during the firebombing of Osaka in World War II. The oldest extant buildings date to the early seventeenth century, and the stone torii gate has stood at the west entrance since 1294. The buildings of the central temple, reconstructed in the 1960s on the basis of written records and archaeological evidence, are faithful recreations of the original sixth-century structures. Although Japanese temples follow a variety of layouts, Shitennōji has a unique linear arrangement of buildings along a north-south axis. Known as the shitennōji-shiki garan, or Shitennōji-style complex, the orientation of the South Gate, Middle Gate, Five-Story Pagoda, Main Hall, and Lecture Hall is one of the oldest temple layouts in Japan. The restoration of other parts of Shitennōji is an ongoing process, and it is still overseen by the same construction company that has constructed the temple’s buildings for centuries.
Shitennōji is visited by pilgrims from all over Japan, especially for its association with Prince Shōtoku and for rites to lead the deceased to the Pure Land paradise. It is also closely associated with the city of Osaka, where it functions as a local neighborhood temple, providing lectures, rites, and other services to the Buddhist community.