Hōgon-ji
The Hogon-ji Temple is located on the sacred Chikubu Island in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
[2] The temple's gate is originally from the Toyokuni Shrine in Kyoto, but was moved to Chikubu Island during the renovations in 1602.
The Hogon-ji Temple is special because of its location on Chikubu Island in the Shiga Prefecture in Japan (see fig.
Chikubu Island is supposedly one of the places where the goddess Benzaiten, who is related to water and one of the Seven Gods of Luck, lived.
The area of Lake Biwa and the surrounding mountains are mentioned many times in the famous story of The Tale of Genji.
However, the rebuilt Hogon-ji Temple strongly resembles the common architectural attributes of a Buddhist Amida Hall.
Amida Halls, however, did not reportedly start being built until around 1051 CE[7] It is therefore apparent that the style of architecture changed with the reconstruction.
Acala is most always seen as having a stern facial expression, holding a sword in his right hand and a rope in his left, and also being surrounded by fire.
The statue's musculature looks very detailed and slightly rounded and soft, a trait reminiscent of Indian works of art.
This stance on a rock is supposedly another common trait of the iconography of Acala that symbolizes the serenity that he imparts to his followers.
[9] Also, each year during the very important Lotus Festival a new sculpture of Benzaiten is made and enshrined at the Hogon-ji Temple.
[1] As shown, Benzaiten is pictured with eight arms, a Buddhist trait, thus emphasizing her greatness and divinity.
The key along with the magic jewel she is holding in the left hand closest to the middle, are symbols of her abilities in bringing good fortune.
4) seen today is very reminiscent of the Amida style Buddhist halls and is a good example of traditional Japanese twists on Chinese architecture.
However, despite the fact that the temple is on an elevated platform, it does not make the building look isolated and removed from its environment as some Chinese structures appear to be, but instead the Japanese architects have made it appear as if it is floating on the terrain and integrated with the environment.
On top of the wooden vertical columns in the front of the temple are typical Japanese 3-on-1 bracket complexes.
A mokoshi being a gap in the architectural rafters that make a structure appear more stories than it actually is.
The gate is highly decorated with wood carvings, metal ornaments, polychrome, and sculptural forms.
Also, seen in the triangular space on the side of the roof is a bright gold phoenix sculptural figure and cloud decorations.
On the bracket complex on the left door post appears to be the head of a Japanese Lion Dog.
The amount of decoration and vibrancy of colors used on the Karamon Gate appear to be a complete antithesis to the Hogon-ji Temple itself.
By the differences in style, architecture, and decoration, it is obvious that the gate is not a part of the original temple complex.
The Funa Corridor is special because it is built of the wood of the "Nihonmaru," Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ship.
It consists of three bays, and a central core that runs the entire height of the structure ending in the finial on top.
This is also evidenced by the fact that pagodas were for inducing meditation, circumambulation, and supposedly held a relic of Buddha.
Overall, the architecture of this structure looks much more decorated than that of the Hogon-ji Temple in its complex use of intersecting beams on the exterior as ornamentation.
11) are especially relevant to the temple's history in that Chikubu Island was the location and Benzaiten was the subject of the famous Nō play, Chikubushima.
The play follows the pilgrimage of a court official to Chikubu Island in his journey to pay homage to the deity there.
He arrives at the island by an old couples fishing boat and then learns his lesson of judging people because it actually turns out that the old woman is Benzaiten, and the old man the Dragon God of Lake Biwa.
The play finally ends with Benzaiten and the Dragon God of Lake Biwa returning to their divine abodes after they both have performed marvelous dances.
