#onjoji

The semi-legendary warrior monk Benkei (弁慶) hefting the great bell of Miidera Temple (三井寺)

A copy of the Mii Mandara (三井曼荼羅), a mandala depicting the chief divinities and deities of Miidera Temple (三井寺) in Ōtsu

In the left column from the top: the collective shrine of eighteen indigenous luminous deities (十八社明神) enshrined at the temple; Mio Myōjin (三尾明神), local guardian deity of the land where the temple is located; and Enchin (円珍), the ninth-century monk responsible for establishing the temple as a major center of his particular branch of Tendai Buddhism

In the center column from the top: Myōken Sonjō-Ō (妙見尊星王), the Buddhist deification of the Pole Star; Miroku (弥勒仏), the buddha of the future; and Sannō Gongen (山王権現), the manifest deity of Mount Hiei and its environs

In the right column from the top: Fudō Myōō (不動明王), the wrathful deity in his distinctive yellow manifestation particular to the temple; Shinra Myōjin (新羅明神), guardian deity of the branch of Tendai teaching particular to the temple; and Kishimojin (鬼子母神), former demoness & divine guardian of children and childbirth

Of uncertain date and provenance, in the collection of Ensenji Temple (円泉寺) in Hannō City, Saitama Prefecture

“Evening Bell at Miidera Temple” (三井の晩鐘) from the series “Eight Views of Ōmi” (近江八景) by Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木春信), early 1760′s

The pilgrims’ hymn for Miidera Temple (三井寺) from a hymnal for the thirty-three temples of the western pilgrimage circuit dedicated to Kannon Bodhisattva (観音菩薩)

My own rough, tentative translation follows:

Number Fourteen: Mount Nagara Miidera Temple (Tendai Jimon school) in Shiga District, Ōmi Province

Onjōji Neighborhood, Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture

A hymn for Nyoirin Kannon:

Ever on the move, The moon reflected in waves Near Miidera, Until the temple bell’s toll Signals dawn over the lake

The central Golden Hall of Miidera Temple (三井寺)--officially Onjōji Temple (園城寺)--in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, founded originally in 672 by Emperor Tenmu (天武天皇) after his victory in a nasty succession dispute, then re-established during the late 9th century by the monk Enchin (円珍) as a major Tendai center rivalling Mount Hiei

The current structure of the Golden Hall itself is a 1599 reconstruction funded by Kōdai’in (高台院), the principal wife of the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉), after its destruction during the conflicts of the 1570′s

A sculpted image of the distinctive yellow manifestation of Fudō Myōō (不動明王) particular to Miidera Temple (三井寺) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, dating to the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and not commonly displayed publicly

A sculpted image of Gohō Zenshin (護法善神 “Virtuous Deity, Protector of the Dharma”) dating to the 12th century at Miidera Temple (三井寺) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, a guardian goddess of the temple along with its definitive developer Enchin (円珍) (814-891)