Amida Hall Remains 阿弥陀堂

Official explanation

The Amida Hall (Amidado) of Muryokoin Temple, which once stood on the pond’s central island, was designed to recreate the Buddha’s palace in the Pure Land paradise, as described in Buddhist scriptures.

Historical records indicate that the Amida Hall was constructed during the twelfth century and modeled after the famous Phoenix Hall at Byodoin Temple in Kyoto. Like the Phoenix Hall, the Amidado at Muryokoin Temple enshrined a statue of Amida, the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. The sacred statue at Muryokoin was 2.43 meters tall.

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During initial excavation of the central island, researchers discovered a type of brick paving in front of the Amida Hall that did not exist at Byodoin, offering one point of contrast to the classical structure at Kyoto.

Muryokoin Temple originally faced to the east, so that worshippers would look west, in the direction of the Pure Land Buddhist paradise.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.