Ankoku-ji (安国寺, Ankoku-ji) is a kind of Buddhist temple. Ankoku-ji may mean "Temple for National Pacification". There are numerous Ankoku-ji throughout Japan and the world. It is a homonym with 暗黒, ankoku as in darkness, evil.

The Ankoku-ji system was developed under the Ashikaga shogunate, as part of its stabilizing the country. The Fudoin Temple within Higashi-ku, Hiroshima, for example, was built by Shōgun Takauji Ashikaga as one of 60 Ankoku-ji temples which were constructed in all provinces across Japan, in the 14th century.

Specific ones in Japan include:

Further reading

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  • Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005). Zen Buddhism: A History. Vol. 2: Japan. Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom. ISBN 0-941532-90-9.