Settsu Kokubunji Temple 7 Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 This text is from an earlier post that was of photos of Taiyuji Temple, number 6 on the pilgrimage that I mistakingly thought was number 7 Kokubunji. I have now edited that post and added relevant information about Taiyuji. Sorry.

Kokubinji is an urban temple in downtown Osaka that is the 7th temple on the Kinki Fudo pilgrimage. It is also on the Saigoku Yakushi, Settsu 88, and Osaka Jizo pilgrimages. Settsu is the old provincial name for what is now Osaka.

The temple's origins lie in the 7th century when a temple was established on the site of a former palace to pray for the peaceful repose of the former emperor Kotoku. It was called Nagara-ji.

In 741 a nationwide system of temple-monasteries called Kokubunji was established, one for each province. Nagara-ji was chosen to be the Kokubunji for Settsu.

In 1615 the temple completely burned down during the Siege of Osaka and was not rebuilt for a hundred years.

It was completely rebuilt again at the end of the Meiji period, and in June 1945 was once again destroyed, this time in an air raid, so all the structures have been built since then, except for the entrance gate which dates to the Edo Period.

The honzon is a Yakushi, but there are numerous other shrines and altars to a variety of deities and buddhas, including several Fudo Myo. Not surprisingly considering the various pilgrimages it is on, the temple attracts a lot of visitors and is surprisingly quiet for an urban temple.

The large Fudo statue with large eyes is Minori Fudo. The smaller Fudo ( photo 4) is a Mizukake Fudo. Photo 5 is a Kobo Daishi statue.

The Bell Tower is a memorial to the Tenroku Gas Explosion when the nearby subway line was being constructed in 1970 and a gas explosion killed 79 and injured 420.

The previous post in this series on my second day walking the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage was Kantele Ogimachi Square.