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Shitennō-ji

Shitennō-ji is a Buddhist temple in Osaka, considered the first Buddhist temple and the first officially administered temple in Japan, founded in 593 by Prince Shōtoku. The present-day complex, rebuilt in 1963, retains a traditional layout with a five-storey pagoda, the Kondō (Golden Hall), which houses an image of Kannon, and the Kōdō (Lecture Hall), beneath a covered corridor with three gates. The complex is surrounded by the Great South Gate (Nandaimon), the Great East Gate and the Great West Gate (Gokuraku-mon), and further west a stone torii believed to be the Eastern Gate to the Western Paradise. In the Kameido hall a 7th-century turtle-shaped stone used in state water rituals is preserved, and today rituals are held to honour ancestors by floating wooden tablets bearing their names. On the 21st of every month a large flea market and food market is held within the grounds, and on the 22nd (Prince Shōtoku Day) special ceremonies take place. The temple is an active centre of worship and pilgrimage, a 5-minute walk from Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station.

Things to do at Shitennō-ji: 12 missions

• Visit Shitennō-jiVisit Shitennō-ji in Osaka and check out the location in person.
• Explore the Kōdō (Lecture Hall)Explore the Kōdō (Lecture Hall), located beneath a covered corridor that supports three gates.
• Explore the Golden Hall (Kondō)Explore the Golden Hall (Kondō), which houses an image of the bodhisattva Kannon.
• See the turtle-shaped stoneTake in the 7th-century turtle-shaped stone in the Kameido hall, which was used for state rituals involving water.
• Witness the rituals commemorating ancestorsSee how, to this day, they are still used for rituals commemorating ancestors, by floating wooden tablets bearing their names on the water.
• See the five-storey pagodaSee the five-storey pagoda that forms part of the garan.
• See the Eastern GateSee the Eastern Gate of the grounds.
• See the Western GateSee the Western Gate of the grounds.
• See the Great East Gate (Higashi-no-ō'mon)See the Great East Gate (Higashi-no-ō'mon) of the grounds.
• Take in the Great West Gate (Nishi-no-ō'mon)See the Great West Gate (Nishi-no-ō'mon), also known as Gokuraku-mon, located to the west.
• See the Great South Gate (Nandaimon)See the Great South Gate (Nandaimon), which surrounds the central complex.
• Discover the stone toriiFind, further to the west, a stone torii, imagined as the Eastern Gate to Sukhavati.

Near Shitennō-ji

Source: Fuentes verificadas