Kongorinji Temple

A Tendai sect temple located in Matsuoji, Aisho-cho, Aichi-gun, Shiga Prefecture. The mountain name is Shobu-san, and it is commonly known as Matsuo-dera. Along with Saimyo-ji and Baekje-ji, it is one of Tendai's three mountains east of Lake Biwa. It is the 15th temple in the Saigoku region of Omi. It is said to have been founded by Gyoki in 741 (Tenpyo 13) at the request of Emperor Shomu. The principal image, Shokanzeon, is a secret Buddha statue said to have been made by Gyoki. During the Kasho era (848-851), Jikaku Daishi Ennin climbed the mountain and restored it, establishing it as a Tendai sect, and scholarly monks gathered there. During the Koan Invasion (1281), Sasaki Yoritsuna, the guardian of Omi, prayed for victory here, and after the battle, the current main hall, Daihikaku (a national treasure), was built. The remains of over 80 Buddhist temple buildings have been confirmed, and it was a large temple at its peak, but in 1571 (Genki 2), most of the temple towers were burned down in a fire stoked by Oda Nobunaga's army. It was later rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ii Naotaka, the lord of Hikone Domain, and others. In addition to the three-story pagoda (Tairyu Tower), Nintemmon Gate, and the main hall of Daigyosha, 12 statues, including an Amida Buddha statue from the early Kamakura period, and a copper rock, have been designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan. The stroll-style garden with a pond, which was built from the Momoyama to Edo periods, is known as a famous garden along the Omi road.

[Tamura Kosuke]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

滋賀県愛知(えち)郡愛荘(あいしょう)町松尾寺(まつおじ)にある天台宗の寺。山号は松峰山(しょうぶさん)。通称松尾寺。西明(さいみょう)寺、百済(ひゃくさい)寺とともに天台の湖東三山の一つ。近江(おうみ)西国第15番札所。741年（天平13）聖武(しょうむ)天皇の勅願により行基(ぎょうき)が開創したと伝える。本尊聖観世音(しょうかんぜおん)は行基の作と伝える秘仏。嘉祥(かしょう)年間（848～851）慈覚大師円仁(えんにん)が登山して中興、天台宗となり学僧が参集したという。弘安(こうあん)の役（1281）に近江守護佐々木頼綱(よりつな)が戦勝を祈願し、役後に現在の本堂大悲閣（国宝）を建立した。確認される坊舎跡は80以上にも及び、盛時は大寺院であったが、1571年（元亀2）織田信長の兵火でほとんどの寺塔を焼失、その後、徳川家康、彦根(ひこね)藩主井伊直孝(なおたか)などにより復興された。三重塔（待龍塔）、仁天門、大行社本殿のほか、鎌倉初期の阿弥陀(あみだ)仏像など12体および銅磐(どうばん)が国の重要文化財に指定されている。桃山から江戸時代にかけての池泉回遊式庭園は近江路の名園として知られる。

［田村晃祐］

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