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Enjō-ji
(円成寺)
Enjō-ji; (円成寺)
	Enjō-ji Hondō of 1472, an Important Cultural Property
Religion
Affiliation	Omuro Shingon
Deity	Amida Nyorai (Amitābha)
Location
Location	1273 Ninnikusen-chō, Nara, Nara Prefecture
Country	Japan
	Shown within Japan
Geographic coordinates	34°41′45″N 135°54′55″E / 34.69583°N 135.91528°E
Architecture
Founder	Xulong, Emperor Shōmu & Empress Kōken
Date established	756
Website
	http://www.enjyouji.jp/

Enjō-ji (円成寺) is a Shingon temple in the northeast of Nara, Japan. A number of its buildings and images have been designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and its late-Heian period gardens are a Place of Scenic Beauty.

History

Enjō-ji is said to have been founded in 756 by a Chinese priest who accompanied Ganjin to Japan. The temple was enlarged in the late-Heian and Muromachi periods. Much damage occurred during the Ōnin War, and further losses occurred during the Meiji period and after.^[1]^[2]

Buildings

The two-storey gate of 1468 and Hondō of 1472 are both Important Cultural Properties.^[3]^[4] The tahōtō is lost and has been replaced with a modern replica.^[5]

Also on the grounds are a number of Shinto shrines. The single bay Kasugadō and Hakusandō of 1227/8 are the oldest extant examples of kasuga-zukuri and are thought to have been moved from Kasuga-taisha when it was rebuilt.^[6] In 1953, both buildings were designated National Treasures.^[7]^[8] The Honden of the shrine to Ugajin dating to the end of the Kamakura period is an Important Cultural Property.^[9]

Treasures

In the tahōtō is a seated wooden statue of Dainichi Nyorai (木造大日如来坐像) of 1176 by Unkei. Of Japanese cypress using the yoseki-zukuri technique, it is gilded over lacquer and has crystal eyes. In 1920, it was designated a National Treasure.^[10] In the Hondō is a seated wooden statue of Amida Nyorai (木造阿弥陀如来坐像) of the Heian period, surrounded by wooden statues of the Shitennō (木造四天王立像) of the Kamakura period, all Important Cultural Properties.^[11]^[12] Other images include a Jūichimen Kannon of 1026, a child prince of 1309 that has been designated a Prefectural Cultural Property, a Fudō Myōō of the Nanboku-chō period, and a gilded Yakushi Nyorai.^[2] The gorintō of 1321 has also been designated an Important Cultural Property.^[13]