Hōrin-ji (Nara)

Hōrin-ji (法輪寺, 法琳寺, 法林寺), or Mii-dera (三井寺, 御井寺) is a Buddhist temple located in the Mii neighborhood of the town of Ikaruga, Nara, Japan.

It belongs to the Shōtoku-shū sect and its honzon is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai The temple's full name is Myōken-san Hōrin-ji (妙見山 法輪寺).

The foundation of this temple is uncertain, as there are no records in the Nihon Shoki or Hōryū-ji Garan Engi and Ruki Shizaichō.

Post holes and ditches thought to be the remains of a predecessor building were also found, and it is believed that the original construction dates back to the end of the Asuka period, in the mid-7th century.

As the lightning rod had been removed under the metal collection order issued during the Pacific War In 1975, the three-story pagoda was rebuilt, and holds the original reliquary that was saved from the fire in 1944.

The surviving well, which was designated a National Historic Site in 1944,[11] was filled in at the beginning of the Meiji period and remained buried until it was excavated in 1932.

[12] The remains of a kiln for firing roof tiles is located on the western slope of a low hill called Kawarazuka, between Hōrin-ji and Hokki-ji.

Mii