Mii-dera

Mii-dera 三井寺
Mii-dera no Bansho (三井寺の晩鐘), the evening bell at Mii-dera.
Basic information
Location	246 Onjō-ji-chō, Ōtsu, Shiga
Affiliation	Tendai Jimon
Country	Japan
Website	www.shiga-miidera.or.jp/
Architectural description
Founder	Emperor Tenmu
Completed	672

Mii-dera (三井寺,御井寺^?), formally called Onjō-ji (園城寺^?), is a Buddhist temple located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu, in Shiga Prefecture. It is only a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the Tendai Jimon sect, it is something of a sister temple to Enryaku-ji, at the top of the mountain, and is one of the four largest temples in Japan. Altogether, there are 40 named buildings in the Mii-dera temple complex.

Mii-Dera is temple number 14 in the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage.

Onjō-ji was founded in the Nara period. The temple was founded in 672 following a dispute over Imperial succession. Emperor Tenji had died, and his son was killed by Tenchi's brother, who was then enthroned as Emperor Tenmu. Temmu founded Onjō-ji in honor and memory of his brother.

The name Mii-dera ("Temple of Three Wells") came about nearly two centuries later. It was given this name by Enchin, one of the earliest abbots of the Tendai Sect. The name comes from the springs at the temple which were used for the ritual bathing of newborns, and in honor of Emperors Emperor Tenji and Emperor Tenmu, and Empress Jitō, who contributed to the founding of the temple. Today, the Kondo, or Main Hall, houses a spring of sacred water. Under Enchin's guidance, from 859 to his death in 891, Mii-dera gained power and importance, eventually becoming (along with Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, and Enryaku-ji) one of the four chief temples charged with the spiritual guidance and protection of the capital. It was during this time also that Enryaku-ji & Mii-dera split away from one another, developing two branches of the Tendai sect, called Jimon and Sanmon. For the most part, this was more a geographic rivalry than an ideological schism, but it was an intense one nonetheless, and only grew more severe after Enchin's death.