Tanema-ji
Tanema-ji is a Shingon Buddhist Temple located in Kōchi, Kōchi, Japan. It is the 34th temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
| Tanema-ji | |
|---|---|
種間寺 | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Shingon |
| Location | |
| Location | Kōchi-ken |
| Country | Japan |
| Geographic coordinates | 33°29′30″N 133°29′15″E |
| Website | |
| http://www.88shikokuhenro.jp/34tanemaji/ | |
History
According to the temple records, during the reign of Emperor Yomei (585-587), a Buddhist carpenter from Baekje who had come to build Shitenno-ji, was caught in a storm when leaving Japan, and drifted ashore to a port near the present day temple. As a part of a prayer for a safe voyage home, the carpenter carved an image of Bhaisajyaguru at the summit of the temple hill, which became the origin point of Tanema-ji. Years later during the Konin era (810-824), Kukai founded the temple using the Baekje carpenters carving as the Honzon, and spread the five grains he had brought from China across the temple grounds, deciding the present-day temple name Tanema-ji (種間寺 lit. “seed space temple”).
The temple was abandoned following the forced separation of Shinto and Buddhism, but was later restored in 1880.[1]