Taima-dera Temple

{{Infobox religious building | name = Taima-dera | native_name = 當麻寺 | image =Taimadera Mandarahall 201905a.jpg | alt = | caption =Mandara-do (NT) | map_type = Japan Nara Prefecture#Japan | relief = 1 | location = 1263 Taima, Katsuragi-shi, Nara-ken |coordinates= | religious_affiliation = Buddhist | rite =Shingon and Jōdo-shū | deity = Taima Mandala | country = Japan | functional_status = functional | website = | founded_by = c.Prince Maroko | year_completed = c.Asuka period | footnotes = } }} thumb|300 px|Taima-dera thumb|250 px|Taima-dera's twin pagodas is a Buddhist temple located in the Taima neighborhood of the city of Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Shingon and Jōdo traditions of Japanese Buddhism and its honzon is the Taima Mandala, a graphical representation of the Pure Land. The temple's full name is Nijō-san Zenrin-ji (二上山 禅林寺).The temple is a pilgrimage site for Pure Land Buddhists, and for its connection to the legend of Princess Chūjō, as well as for its twin triple-story pagodas built in the Nara period to the early Heian period.

==History== The temple is said to have been founded by Prince Shōtoku's half-brother, Prince Maroko (Prince Taima), but there are many unknowns about its founding. The temple is located at the western edge of the Nara Basin, bordering Osaka Prefecture, and was an important transportation and military location in ancient times. Mount Nijō was a sacred mountain and is located opposite Mount Miwa, a sacred mountain in the eastern part of the Nara Basin. As Mount Nijō is located in the west of Yamato Province, and since the setting sun sets between its two peaks, it was regarded to be the entrance to the Western Paradise and the destination of the souls of the dead. Mount Nijō was also a source of tuff, which was used to make burial chambers for kofun burial mounds and later as the foundation stone for Buddhist temples. The Taima area was on the Yokooji road, the mai east-west road connecting Yamato with Kawachi Province and thus the main route along which cultural artifacts from Tang China and the Korean peninsula were transported from the port of Naniwa (Osaka) to the capital. It is believed that Taima-dera was built as the clan temple of the Taima clan, a branch of the powerful Katsuragi clan that held sway in this area. Its statues of Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya Bodhisattva), and the Four Heavenly Kings statues enshrined in the main hall, the temple bell and stone lanterns in the precincts, the excavated brick Buddhas, and old roof tiles all show a style dating to the reign of Emperor Tenmu (late 7th century), and it is believed that the temple was founded around this time. However, the exact date and circumstances of its founding are not clear as there are no records in the official histories.