Ashoka Temple

Japanese: 阿育王寺 - あいくおうじ

Located at the foot of Mount Ashoka, about 16km from the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, China, this temple is one of the five Chinese Zen temples, famous for its relic stupa. It was founded in 282 AD during the Western Jin Dynasty. In the 3rd century BC, during the reign of King Ashoka, the third king of the Mauryan Dynasty in India, it is said that over 8,400 stupas (towers containing the remains of the Buddha) were built around the world. Of these, 19 were built in China, and the stupa at Ashoka Temple is said to be the only one still standing in China. It is said that the Tang dynasty monk Ganjin, who naturalized in Japan during the Nara period, also visited this temple, and it is also a temple associated with Japanese Zen monks such as Dogen, the founder of the Soto sect.

Source: Kodansha World Tourist Attractions Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

中国の浙江(せっこう)省、寧波（ニンポー）の市街から約16kmの距離に位置する、阿育王山の麓にある寺院で、舎利宝塔(しゃりほうとう)で有名な中国禅宗五山の一つ。創建は、西晋の時代の西暦282年。紀元前3世紀、インド・マウリヤ朝の第3代アショーカ王（阿育王）の時代、世界各地に8400あまりの仏舎利塔（釈迦の遺骨を分骨して納めた塔）が建設されたといわれている。そのうち19の塔が中国に建てられたが、この阿育王寺の舎利塔が中国で現存する唯一の仏舎利塔とされている。奈良時代に日本に帰化した唐の高僧鑑真もこの寺を訪れたとされ、曹洞宗の開祖・道元など日本の禅僧ゆかりの寺でもある。

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