Sūfuku-ji (Ōtsu)

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Coordinates: 35°02′09″N 135°51′16″E / 35.03583°N 135.85444°E / 35.03583; 135.85444
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Sūfuku-ji temple ruins
崇福寺跡
Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan
RegionKansai region
Coordinates35°02′09″N 135°51′16″E / 35.03583°N 135.85444°E / 35.03583; 135.85444
Typetemple ruins
History
PeriodsAsuka period
Site notes
Public accessYes (no public facilities)
Site of the Kondō of Sūfuku-ji

The Sūfuku-ji temple ruins (崇福寺跡, Sūfuku ato) is an

ŌtsuShiga Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1941,[1] and some of the artifacts recovered from the site are collectively designated as a National Treasure.[2] and some of the artifacts recovered from the site are collectively designated as a National Treasure
.

Overview

Archaeological excavations indicate that the temple ruins are located on three ridges extending south from Mount Hiei. The north ridge contains the Miroku-do, a chapel dedicated to Maitreya. The middle ridge (also known as "Maruyama") contains the small Kondō and the south ridge has the main temple complex itself, including the foundations of the Kondō, Lecture Hall and Kyōzō
(Sutra library). The site also encompasses the Hyakuana Kofun cluster and the Nagao Tile Kiln ruins; however, the site has not been excavated since its designation as a National Historic Site, so there is much about its layout which remains unknown.

Identification controversy

The history of the excavation of the site is inseparable from the location controversy involving the search for them location of the Ōmi Palace. It is known in historical records that

Hakuho period and the foundation of a pagoda were found. Archaeologists were divided, with some postulating that the Minamishigachō temple ruins was Bonshaku-ji, which it was further postulated had been erected by Emperor Kanmu on the site of Ōmi Palace. Others argued that the Minamishigachō temple ruins corresponded to Sūfuku-ji as Hakuho period roof tiles had been excavated at that location. In an effort to settle the controversy, Shiga Prefecture sponsored excavations from 1938 to 1945 which only further inflamed the controversy. The "Shigasato Yamanaka site" yielded no artifacts earlier than the Heian period, although the layout of buildings appeared to correspond to what was known of Sūfuku-ji. It was only after a landslide and further excavations revealed Hakuho period tiles, a Buddha image and the foundations of a pagoda that the controversy was officially resolved in favor of "Shigasato Yamanaka site" being the site of Sūfuku-ji. Regarding the Minamishigachō site, this was arbitrarily explained as a predecessor temple in between the period when the Ōmi Palace was destroyed and the construction of Bonshaku-ji on the site of the palace ruins. However, this was not the end of the controversy, which extended well into the postwar period. It is now current dogma that Sūfuku-ji occupied the northern and central ridges of the site and Bonshaku-ji was on the southern ridge, whereas the Minamishigachō site is an entirely unknown Hakuho period temple. This is supported by roof tiles inscribed with the kanji
"Bon" found on the southern ridge.

History

Sūfuku-ji is also referred to as Shigayama-dera or Risshaku-ji in ancient literature. It claimed to have been founded in 667AD, when

Kofuku-ji. By the Heian period, the temple had established strong connections with Mii-dera and was thus drawn into that temple's perennial conflict with Enryaku-ji. Sūfuku-ji burned down five times during the Heian period, and although rebuilt, each time it was rebuilt on a smaller scale and eventually became subsidiary of Mii-dera. by the middle of the Kamakura period, the Enryakuji Gokoku Engi states that "there is no trace of Sūfuku Temple", but this is either an exaggeration, or else the temple had relocated from its previous location, as its name continued to appear in various historical documents into the Muromachi period
.

Artifacts

shari container

During the 1945 excavation a shari container was found buried within the pagoda foundation. This was a box containing smaller silver and gold boxes within, and a crystal container housing a Buddhist relic. It was designated a National Treasure in 1952. It is currently owned by Omi Shrine and is stored at the Kyoto National Museum.

The discovery of this container was controversial. The contractor hired to survey and excavate the pagoda foundation had worked on a previous site and knew of the possibility that it contained some type of buried treasure. Digging the site on his own, he presented the container to the archaeologists, who were amazed that an amateur apparently knew exactly where to look. However, after demanding to examine the exact location from which the container was recovered, it was soon realized that other objects were missing. After police interrogation, the contractor and his local accomplices admitted to robbing the site, and a mirror and several silver coins were recovered, but other objects which had been stolen were lost.

The shari container is a quadruple container that contains a lapis lazuli bottle in a triple-nested box. The outer box is made of cast bronze and is plated. The box and lid were separately cast and connected with fasteners on the front and back. The dimensions are 10 cm long, 7.4 cm wide, and 7.6 cm high (including 2.4 cm leg height), with two legs on each side. The inner box is made of silver plate, the lid is a single plate embossed, and the box is made by bending one plate to make the side of the box and sticking another plate on the bottom. The lid has fasteners on the front and back, and a pin with a jewel to seal it. The dimensions are 8 cm long, 5.6 cm wide, and 4 cm high, with an overall rounded shape. The innermost box is made of gold plate, and the shape and manufacturing method are similar to the inner box. The dimensions are 6.2 cm long, 4.3 cm wide, and 3.4 cm high. Inside, there is a stud to hold the jar, which is flower-shaped with 8 petals bordered with a flower-shaped dotted line carving, a similar motif to objects from the Kofun period and early Asuka period found on Okinoshima and at Hōryū-ji. The lapis lazuli bottle has a diameter of 3 cm, a height of 3 cm, and a diameter of 1.8 cm, and is dark green. Gold leaf was pressed against the rim and covered with a gold lid. It seems that the bottle had collapsed when it was excavated, and it was found in the inner box. The shrine was crystal and had three grains of 1 mm or less. The outer and inner boxes were filled with plaster-like mud, and two amethyst and 14 perforated Nanjing balls were found. The mud seems to be remnants of incense. Twelve silver coins (one of which was lost) were excavated from the outside of the box. The silver coins are uninscribed and have a diameter of 3 cm and a weight of about 10 g, and are drilled with holes.

The accompanying iron mirror has a diameter of 7 cm, with a gold-copper plate is attached to the back and fastened with a silver edge. The back is arabesque and has a design with a fish. A mirror similar to this has been excavated from the

roof tiles
which has been found at the site is very small, as most buildings were covered with wooden shingles rather than tiles. The tiles found date from the Heian period and were made at the Nagao roof tile kiln site located about 550 meters to the southeast.

The site is located about a 20-minute walk from the

Ishiyama Sakamoto Line.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "崇福寺跡" [Sūfuku ato] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "崇福寺塔心礎納置品" [Sōfukuji tōshinso osamehin] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  3. ISBN 978-4311750403
    .(in Japanese)

External links

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