Nanmyo-ji Temple (南明寺)
Nanmyo-ji Temple is a Omuro school of the Shingon sect temple located in Sakahara-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture. The sango (literally, "mountain name"), which is the title prefixed to the name of a Buddhist temple, is Iozan.
The temple is located on Yagyu Road connecting the heart of Nara City to Yagyu Village.
History
The details of its establishment are unknown. According to legend, the temple was one of the 'Makiyamasenbo' (priest lodges) run by monks from Baekje in 575 (it is also said to have been established in 771). The main hall is assumed to have been built in the mid Kamakura period, however, due to the absence of ancient structural remnants or artifacts of the same period found in the precincts of the temple, the entire temple is assumed to have been established in the Kamakura period. The statues of Buddha, including the principal image of Buddha were made in the Heian period and are older than its hall, so they are assumed to have been brought from other places.
Cultural Property
Important Cultural Property
Hondo (hipped roof style tiled roofs, the mid Kamakura period)
Wooden seated statue of Yakushi Nyorai (a wooden figure carved from one tree with lacquered leaf from the mid Heian period)
Wooden seated statue of Shaka Nyorai (a wooden figure carved from one tree with lacquered leaf from the mid Heian period)
Wooden seated statues of Amida Nyorai (a wooden figure carved from one tree with lacquered leaf from the mid Heian period)
Directions
Address: 1005 Sakahara-cho, Nara City
Take the Nara Kotsu Bus from the JR Nara Station or the Kintetsu Nara Station to Sakahara.