Kokawadera Temple

This temple is located in Kokawa, Kinokawa City, Wakayama Prefecture. It is called Fumouzan Kokawa-dera, but was originally called Fudarakusan Seion-ji. It is the third temple of the Thirty-Three Temples of the Western Provinces. It was originally a Tendai sect temple, but is now a Kokawa Kannon sect temple. According to the legend, the temple was founded in 770 (Hōki 1) when a monk named Dounan, an incarnation of Kannon, appeared and carved the Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Kannon Bodhisattva (principal image), which was then enshrined in a hermitage by the votary Otomo Kujiko. During the Kamakura period, it had seven halls, 550 temples, 40,000 koku of temple land, and several thousand monks, making it a prosperous temple. However, in 1585 (Tensho 13), most of the temple buildings and treasures were burned down during the war of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1619 (Genwa 5), ​​Tenkai's younger brother Ten'ei rebuilt the temple with the help of Tokugawa Yorinobu, the lord of the Kii domain. The current Daimon gate, Doun-do Hall, and Chumon gate date back to the mid-Tokugawa period. The garden is a dry landscape rock garden from the Momoyama period, and is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty. In addition, there is the garden of Oike-no-bo (main temple), where Yamato-e painter Reizei Tamechika lived in hiding, and the "Tiger in front of the gate" created by Hidari Jingoro. The temple treasure, "Kokawa-ji Engi," is a designated national treasure. There are many other temple treasures, including a standing statue of Kishimojin and a seated statue of Acala.

[Nakayama Kiyota]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

和歌山県紀の川市粉河にある寺。風猛山(ふうもうざん)粉河寺と称するが、本来は補陀落山(ふだらくさん)施音寺(せおんじ)という。西国(さいごく)三十三所第3番札所。もとは天台宗であったが、現在は粉河観音(かんのん)宗。縁起によれば、770年（宝亀1）、観音の化身である童男(どうなん)行者が現れて刻した千手千眼観世音菩薩(かんぜおんぼさつ)（本尊）を、発願者の大伴孔子古(おおともくじこ)が草庵(そうあん)を結んで安置したのが開創という。鎌倉時代には七堂伽藍(がらん)、550坊、寺領4万石を有し、数千人の僧徒がいて隆盛を極めた。しかし1585年（天正13）の豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の兵乱によって堂塔伽藍、寺宝のほとんどを焼失した。1619年（元和5）紀伊藩主徳川頼宣(よりのぶ)の助力を得て天海(てんかい)の弟天英が再興した。現在の大門、童男堂、中門などは徳川中期のものである。庭園は桃山時代の枯山水(かれさんすい)の石庭で、国指定名勝となっているほか、大和絵(やまとえ)画家の冷泉為恭(れいぜいためちか)が潜居した御池坊（本坊）の庭園、左甚五郎作という「門前の虎(とら)」などがある。寺宝の『粉河寺縁起』は国宝に指定されている。そのほか鬼子母神立像、不動明王坐像(ざぞう)など寺宝は多い。

［中山清田］

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