The establishment and development of sacred places in Tohoku district: Cultural stone artifacts from the Yamadera Risshaku-ji temple

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26370889
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Archaeology
• Research Institution: Yamagata University
• Principal Investigator: Araki SHINOBU 山形大学, 基盤教育院, 准教授 (10326754)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 石造文化財 / 庶民信仰 / 立石寺 / 出羽三山 / 石塔 / 戒名

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Although analysis of the cultural stone artifacts from the Risshaku-ji temple is ongoing, the portion that has already been surveyed requires further examination. We therefore present a reanalysis of the carved memorial monument at the entrance. The results of this study reveal that the present-day Akiu(Sendai) used to comprise part of the Risshaku-ji premises; we were also able to newly decipher information including the names and birthdates of people in the Kyoho era who visited Nikko.We have investigated about 90% of the known 988 cultural stone artifacts to date and have accumulated detailed data.We have also completed a survey of the cultural stone artifacts from the comparative sites of Dewasanzan and Matsushima. These results enable identification of differences between the people (regions) who supported each sacred place; it is particularly clear that the Risshaku-ji temple was a strongly supported sacred place within this region until early modern times.

Free Research Field

日本考古学、特に文字関係資料