Anō temple ruins

Anō temple ruins
穴太廃寺跡
	Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan
Region	Kansai region
Coordinates	35°03′12″N 135°52′03″E / 35.05333°N 135.86750°E
Type	temple ruins
Area	33,028.5 m²
History
Periods	Asuka period
Site notes
Public access	Yes (no public facilities)
	National Historic Site of Japan

The Anō temple ruins (穴太廃寺跡, Anō Haiji ato) is an

ŌtsuShiga Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1997.^[1]

Overview

The Anō temple site has been known for a long time due to numerous

roof tiles which have been found in the vicinity, but was identified as the ruins of Buddhist temple complex only in 1973, and was excavated in 1984. The site has two overlapping occupation layers. The earliest layer appears to have been patterned after Kawara-dera in Asuka, with a Kondō in the west and a pagoda in the east, surrounded by a cloister, aligned slightly to the northeast. The second layer appears to have been patterned after Hokki-ji in Ikaruga, Nara, with a Kondō in the west, Pagoda in the east, and a large Lecture Hall in the north. The alignment of this later temple is on a north-south axis. Fragments of a silver Buddha image have been recovered from the site of the Lecture Hall. Inscriptions on excavated roof tiles give the dates of either 630 and 632 or 690 and 692 AD. This was either shortly before or after the construction of the Ōmi Ōtsu Palace, which was used from 667 to 672 AD. The temple is believed to have existed into the Heian period, although no details are mentioned in historical documentation, and even the name of the temple is unknown.^[2]

The site, which was backfilled after excavation, is located about a five-minute walk from

Ishiyama Sakamoto Line.^[2]