Eineiji Temple

This temple was located in Luoyang, Henan Province, China. It was founded in 516 by Empress Dowager Ling, the mother of Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The nine-storey tower is over 90 meters high (about 273 meters), and a shasatsu (tower) is built on top. The building, which was the result of extensive civil engineering work, is exquisite and magnificent. When Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, came to Luoyang, he was amazed by its splendor. The Buddha statue in the main hall, modeled after the Daigokuden (Great Hall), is decorated with gold and silver, and all sutras, treatises, and Buddha statues presented from abroad were stored in this temple. The sutra translator Bodhirushi also lived in this temple and conducted his translation work. In 534, the Nine-Story Pagoda caught fire and was reduced to ashes, and thunder roared, hail and snow fell, leaving the people of Luoyang in despair.

[Shigeo Kamata]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、河南(かなん／ホーナン)省洛陽(らくよう／ルオヤン)にあった寺。516年北魏(ほくぎ)の孝明帝の生母霊太后(れいたいこう)が創建したもの。9層の塔は高さ90余丈（約273メートル）あり、上には舎刹(しゃさつ)（塔）が建てられており、土木の工(たくみ)を尽くしたその建物は精妙で華麗を極めた。禅宗の開祖菩提達磨(ぼだいだるま)が洛陽にきたとき、その華やかさに驚嘆したという。大極殿(だいごくでん)を模した正殿の仏像は金銀で飾られ、外国から献上された経論や仏像などはすべてこの寺に収蔵された。また、訳経僧の菩提流支(ぼだいるし)はこの寺に住して翻訳事業を行った。534年、九層塔から火を発し、灰燼(かいじん)に帰したが、そのとき雷鳴が響き、霰(あられ)や雪が降り、洛陽の人々は悲嘆に暮れたという。

［鎌田茂雄］

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