Hokke-ji Temple (Nara)

Lying in the northeast of the old Heijo-kyo capital, Hokke-ji is a nunnery that Empress Komyo established in the Tenpyo era on the site of her father Fujiwara no Fuhito's residence. It was the head of the provincial nunneries (kokubun-niji) placed in each province, the "Sokokubun-niji," the counterpart nunnery to Todai-ji, the head of the provincial temples, and its formal name is Hokke Metsuzai-no-tera. Today it is the head temple of the Komyo sect.

It is said to have begun in 745, when Empress Komyo converted Fuhito's former mansion into a palace temple, and its name first appears in documents of the Shoso-in in 747. The temple's buildings are thought to have been completed around 782. It was damaged in the 1180 attack of Taira no Shigehira, but in the Kamakura period Eison of Saidai-ji and Chogen helped restore it, and it became a Shingon-Risshu temple. Fires in 1499 and 1506 and an earthquake in 1596 then destroyed many of its buildings. In 1601 Toyotomi Hideyori and Yodo-dono rebuilt it under the magistrate Katagiri Katsumoto; the main hall, south gate and bell tower from this rebuilding survive and are all Important Cultural Properties. The east pagoda fell in the 1707 earthquake. The former temple precinct is a national historic site, and in 1999 the temple left the Shingon-Risshu sect and took the name Komyo sect.

The main image is a standing wooden Eleven-Headed Kannon, thought to date from the early Heian period and designated a National Treasure. Tradition says it was modeled on Empress Komyo. Usually worshippers see its substitute image, while the original is shown during special openings held for limited periods. The temple also holds a National Treasure seated statue of Vimalakirti, a National Treasure painting on silk of the Amida Triad with attendant boys, and Important Cultural Properties such as a wooden Buddha head.

The garden of the main residence is a celebrated garden designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty. Each year the Hinae-shiki doll festival ceremony is held for seven days from April 1. The grounds are not large, so a visit takes roughly 30 minutes to an hour. Special openings and special exhibitions draw crowds, so it is safest to check the dates with the temple.

Among nearby listed spots are Saidai-ji, Toshodai-ji and Kofuku-ji, so Hokke-ji slots easily into a tour of Nara's old temples. Buses run from Kintetsu-Nara Station, and drivers can use the parking lot (50 cars).