Hōon-ji (報恩寺) is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist temple located in the city of Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Its main image is a statue of Shaka Nyōrai, although the temple is more famous for its statues of the 500 Rakan.

Hōon-ji
報恩寺
Hōon-ji Sanmon
Religion
AffiliationBuddhist
DeityShaka Nyōrai
RiteSōtō
Location
Location31-5 Nasukawachō, Takakura-aze Morioka-shi, Iwate-ken
Hōon-ji (Morioka) is located in Iwate Prefecture
Hōon-ji (Morioka)
Shown within Iwate Prefecture
Hōon-ji (Morioka) is located in Japan
Hōon-ji (Morioka)
Hōon-ji (Morioka) (Japan)
Geographic coordinates39°42′43.95″N 141°9′22.31″E / 39.7122083°N 141.1561972°E / 39.7122083; 141.1561972
Architecture
FounderNambu Moriyuki
Completed1394

The temple was built at the seat of the Nanbu clan in Sannohe by the 13th chieftain of the clan, Nambu Moriyuki, in 1394. In 1601, the Nanbu clan was ordered to relocate its seat south to Morioka Castle by the Tokugawa shogunate, and the 27th chieftain (and first daimyō of Morioka Domain), Nanbu Toshinao relocated the temple at that time. During the Edo period, the temple was a seminary and was the head temple of a network of 280 temples throughout the Nanbu domains. In 1869, the karō of Morioka Domain, Narayama Sado, committed seppuku within the Hondō of the temple at the time of the collapse of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the Boshin War of the Meiji restoration.

A notable feature of the temple is the Rakan-dō, built in 1735 and rebuilt in 1858. Its central statue Rushana butsu is reported to be made by Kōbō-daishi. Within the Rakan-dō are statues of the 500 Rakan, which were made in Kyoto and later brought to Morioka. Included are representations of Kublai Khan and Marco Polo.[1]

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