is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture,ōdō Japan, built in the late Heian period. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects.
History
This temple was originally built in 998 in the Heian period as a rural villa of high-ranking courtier , Minister of the Left. After he died, one of the most powerful members of the Fujiwara clan, Fujiwara no Michinaga, purchased the property from the courtier's widow. The villa was made into a Buddhist temple by his son Fujiwara no Yorimichi in 1052. Being one of the World Heritage sites of Japan, the Byodoin Temple buildings and Buddha statues have a long history of about 1000 years. In East Asian Buddhism, there is the Three Ages of Buddhism, which are three divisions of time following Buddha's passing. The Mappo, which is also translated as the Age of Dharma Decline, is the degenerate Third Age of Buddhism, also known as the Latter Day of the Law. It was widely believed that the year 1052 marked the first year of the beginning of the end-of-the-world. This theory captured the heart of many aristocrats and monks, which as a result, people became more devout in Buddhism and believed in the ideology of Buddhist Pure Land. In the following year, Amida-do Hall (Phoenix Hall) was completed in whose interior sits the 2.4 meters tall Amida Buddha statue created by Jōchō, who is claimed to have been the best Buddhist sculptor in the Heian Period.
Masashige Kusunoki, a samurai warrior who was fighting against the army of the Ashikaga Clan, set a fire around Byodoin Temple in 1336, which resulted in many of the temple buildings were burnt down with only a few surviving.
The Byodoin Temple gradually expanded into a massive Temple complex during the Kamakura Period, where Jodo-in Temple was opened due to the renovation of Byodoin Temple in 1496; Rakan-do Hall was established in 1640; Saisho-in Temple was established in 1654.
A full-scale renovation of the Amida-do Hall (Phoenix Hall) was undertaken in 1670, during which the front doors were replaced. Two sub-temples, Jodo-in Temple belonging to the Jodo Sect and Saisho-in Temple belonging to the Tendai Sect, began to cooperate and made a great effort to maintain the operation of Byodoin Temple. In 1698, Uji was devastated by a large fire and Byodoin Temple was badly damaged. The walls and doors of Phoenix Hall were ruined after this incident. However, as a result of the deterioration of the temple, people's will for Phoenix Hall's preservation and renovation became enthusiastic.
During the Meiji Period (1868–1912) and Showa Period (1926–1989), large scale renovation of the Phoenix hall was undertaken. The Phoenix Hall and Amida Buddha statue were designated as National Treasures in 1951, which Phoenix Hall was also selected for the design as the obverse of the 10 yen coin. Then, the Temple Bell, the praying Bodhisattva on Clouds, the Canopy, the paintings on the door and walls of Cho-do Hall of Phoenix Hall were designated as National Treasures.
The Byodoin Temple was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto in 1994. Large scale renovation on the garden, the canopy of Amida Buddha statue and the overall outlook of the Phoenix Hall continues in the Heisei Period (1989–2019) until today.
The most famous building in the temple is the or the Amida Hall, constructed in 1053. It is the only remaining original building, surrounded by a scenic pond; additional buildings making up the compound were burnt down during a civil war in 1336.
The Temple complex
The Phoenix Hall
The main building in Byōdō-in, the Phoenix Hall consists of a central hall, flanked by twin wing corridors on both sides of the central hall, and a tail corridor. The central hall houses an image of Amida Buddha. The roof of the hall displays statues of the Chinese phoenix, called hōō in Japanese. The building is regarded as almost the sole remaining example from the Fujiwara Regent Period, which is also considered as one of the most important cultural assets of Japan.
The Phoenix Hall, completed in 1053, is the exemplar of Fujiwara Amida halls. It consists of a main rectangular structure flanked by two L-shaped wing corridors and a tail corridor, set at the edge of a large artificial pond. Though its official name is Amida-dō, it began to be called Hōō-dō, or Phoenix Hall, in the beginning of the Edo period. This name is considered to derive both from the building's likeness to a phoenix with outstretched wings and a tail, and the pair of phoenixes adorning the roof.