Hojo-in Temple (Uji City) (放生院 (宇治市))
Hojo-in Temple, located in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, is a temple of the Shingon Ritsu sect. Its sango (literally, "mountain name"), which is the title prefixed to the name of a Buddhist temple, is Houzan. Its jigo (literally, "temple name"), which is the title given to a Buddhist temple, is Joko-ji. Its honzon (the principal image of Buddha) is Jizo Bosatsu (Ksitigarbha). Usually this temple is called Hashidera Hojo-in, and the name 'Hashidera' came from the fact that the nearby Uji-bashi Bridge was administrated by this temple.
History
The temple was reportedly founded by HATA no Kawakatsu in 603, when he constructed Uji-bashi Bridge, but according to the monument called 'Uji-bashi Danbi' (a national important cultural property) within the premises of the temple, the Uji-bashi Bridge is considered to have been built by the monk Doto of Ganko-ji Temple. It was restored by Eison in 1281, during the Kamakura period. When it suffered from fires caused by war in 1479, it was reconstructed by the aid of the Muromachi bakufu and others, but when another fire occurred in 1631, during the Edo period, it burned to the ground.
Cultural properties
Important Cultural Properties
Mokuzo Jizo Bosatsu Ryuzo (the wooden standing statue of Ksitigarbha)
Mokuzo Fudo-myo-o Ryuzo (the wooden standing statue of Acala, one of the five Wisdom Kings)
Ujibashi Danbi Monument
Location
11 Uji Higashiuchi, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture