Toyoura Temple - Toyouradera

This is the common name for Taishizan Kogenji Temple, located in Asuka Village, Takaichi County, Nara Prefecture. It belongs to the Jodo Shinshu Honganji sect. It is said to have begun when Soga no Iname received a Buddha statue and a scroll of sutras presented from Baekje during the reign of Emperor Kinmei and placed them in his house in Oharida, and later moved the house to Mukuhara as a temple. As this was the first temple in Japan, it was called Gangoji (Kenkoji), and was also called Mukuhara Temple, Oharida Temple, and Sakurai Temple after the name of the place where it was located. In 590 (the 3rd year of Emperor Sushun's reign), Zenshinni and others returned from Baekje and lived in the main temple which had been moved to Sakurai, and in 593 (the 1st year of Empress Suiko's reign), they moved Toyura Palace (Toyoura Palace) and constructed a main hall and other buildings on the site, so the temple came to be called Toyoura Temple.

In 710 (Wado 3), when the capital was moved to Heijo-kyo, Gangoji Temple was also moved to Heijo-kyo. As the area fell into decline, it was almost abandoned. However, during the Edo period, a hall was rebuilt on the old site and named Kogen-ji Temple after the pronunciation of the characters in Mukaihara-ji, but it is now called Mukaihara-ji Temple.

[Takaaki Wakabayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

奈良県高市(たかいち)郡明日香(あすか)村にある太子山(たいしざん)向原寺(こうげんじ)の通称。浄土真宗本願寺派に属する。欽明(きんめい)天皇のとき百済(くだら)から献じた仏像、経巻を蘇我稲目(そがのいなめ)が受けて小墾田(おはりだ)の家に安置し、のち向原(むくはら)の家を寺として移したのに始まるという。これが日本最初の寺院であるところから元興寺(がんごうじ)（建興寺）とよばれ、また所在地の地名から向原(むくはら)寺、小墾田寺、桜井寺ともよばれた。590年（崇峻天皇3）善信尼らが百済から帰って桜井に移されていた本寺に住し、593年（推古天皇1）には等由良(とゆら)宮（豊浦宮）を移してその地に金堂などを造営したので豊浦寺とよばれた。

　710年（和銅3）平城遷都とともに元興寺も平城京に移され、この地が衰えるとともにほとんど廃絶したが、江戸時代に旧跡に一堂を建て、向原寺の字音にちなんで広厳寺と称したが、現在向原寺と称している。

［若林隆光］

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