Among many modern high-rise apartment houses and offiice buildings, nestles quietly
a large complex of beautiful temple buildings of Shitennoji Temple.It is near the Sinsekai
Area, Nippon Bashi ( called DEN DEN TOWN) with many shops of high technology
products, and near 南(Minami - the South ) bustling quaters with elegant department
stores, restaurants, bars, and night clubs.

This place was located on the Uemachi Plateau ( 上町台地　－　Uemachi Daichi ) which
spreads from the south to the north. In ancient times, this Plateau was something like
a peninsula protruding into the Osaka Bay, and now, five hundred meters west of
the shitennoji temple and across the high way, you can reach 勝鬘院（　Shooman-in
temple) popularly called by Osakans " 愛染さん　ー Aizen San ). The neighborhood of
Aizen San is called 夕陽ヶ丘 -　Yuuhiga-oka ー　the Sun Set Hill.

From this Hill, you can view the beautiful sunset there. The Uemachi Plateau have 7
slopes (beautiful alleys with beautiful names). Going down one of these slopes, you will
come down to the street of many temples, called 下寺町　（　Shitadera machi - Lower
Temple Street ). The entire street " Shitadera Machi " is built upon land that that was
actually underwater in ancient times.

In Japanese history, the temples were used very often as military quarters in war times,
and therefore, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in his city planning, forced many temples which had
been scattered in many places of Osaka to move here , and concentrated them in this
area for the military reason of defending the Castle.

When I was a student, during summer vacation. I worked in one of those temples
a few weeks,putting magazines in envelopes to send them by mail. Many temples had
financial difficulty, as they have now, and some companies rented some rooms and
halls of the temples for working places, but this was only done temporarily, of course.
On some special days of buddhist rituals and festivals,, they need all the rooms and
the halls for many worshippers. Nowadays, some young and entereprising buddhist
priests invite musicians to hold music concerts. or they host some dramas. Buddhist
halls serve as excellent settings for their performances, which helps temples both
financially, and to atract people who otherwise rarely visit the temples.

Unbelievably, some temples on the Plateau and "down under" were forced to sell
some stretch of temple grounds, which turned out to be picturesque "Love hotels"
( RABU HOTERU). Some of these hotels are of Japanese style but, many hotels have
foreign names. Just imagine what they are the Love Hotels are with the followingt
names. " Chapel Cinderela ", " Joyful","Hotel New York", " Green Gables "," Cocoji ",
" Hotel Rose Lips ", "Gang Normans", " Little Chapel Coconuts ", " Royal Couple",
" Mischievous Kitten", and some other French names which I don't know how to spell
nor can undestandthe meanings. The owners of "Love Hotel" have began to use more
ambiguous and euphemistic word for "Love Hotel", and they are called now " Fashion
Hotel " ( FASSHON HOTERU).

The Fashionable "Fashion Hotels" , like " Buckingham Palace","Chateau Maria
Teresa", and other Japanese names among many buddhist temples built 400 years ago
have created incredible sights which I can not describe with my poor vocabulary of
English. Hideyoshi, ruller and planner of Osaka would surely be antonised at these
sights. The holy and the earthy , the Japanese and the Western are found in the same
places !

The hotels seem to have stopped invading more temple grounds. Now, we can see 20
temples in a row without being any hotel between , facing the high way in some
places of the area, as the hotels invaded some areas of less traffic, almost hided. I went
there recently ( in April, 2003), and found in their neibouring area with less temples
many motorcycle shops, which sell all kinds of motorcles new and old, and accesories,
and the parts.

Shitennoji Temple was built by Prince Shootoku ( 572-622 ) in 593, at the order of his
aunt, ruling empress Suiko. But, actually, he himself wanted to build the "Shitennoji
Temple and did so, in gratitude of the 4 Heavenly Guardian Kings of Buddhism which
helped him in the battle againt the Mononobe clan. The powerful arrow of Mononobe
no Moriya hit the chest of the Prince but he was safe.

He was nominated Imperial regent at the age of 19, but was de facto ruler of Japan in
3 following decades. He was so intelligent and virtuous, as the name Shootoku
expresses, and he was the son of the Emperor Yoomei 用明天皇, and so fully qualified
to be Emperor of Japan. There were very complicated political reasons for his being
No.1 in power, but No.2 in rank and title. This seperation of power from rank, title and
honors can be found even in the present day Japanese society.

The Shitennoji temple was the first and the oldest State Buddhist temple of Japan. But,
many of the temple buildings including the Pagoda seems to be brand-new. You can not
find any building built 1,400 years ago. Many buildings were burned down by air raid
bombings in 1945, and were re-built in 1963( 38th year of Shoowa). The temple has a long
history of the repeated reconstructions . It suffered from fires in the Battles of Oonin
( 1467 - 1478 ), and in the Winter Battle of Osaka in 1614.

It is not clear when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. We can imagine that it filtered
into Japan in the 5th century, together with some other cultures of the Asia Continent,
but its influence was not so massive nor wide-speread as in later centuries. About
the year of the official introduction of Buddhism,there are also a few different versions,
but the more popularly accepted version is that the king　Song (聖明王　Seimei-oo in
Japanese) of the kingdom of Paerkche ( 百済ー　Kudara　in　Japanese ) donated to the
japanese emperor 　欽明　（　KINMEI ) buddhist images and and books of buddhist
teachings, with a mesage saying that the Buddhist teachings are excellent, in 538
( Another vesion is 552).

Beside the entrance " Torii" gate, we can see the monument with 日本仏法最初四天王寺
（　NIHON BUPPOO SAISYO SHITENNOJI - The birth-place of Japanese Buddism -
Shitennoji Temple )

Before the introduction of Buddhism into Japan, Japanese
people believed in nature, In the holy mountains, rivers, forests, and animals.
This cult of nature, called animism, is very natural and common in our human
sentiments. Such belief was the base of Shintoism. Before 3 world religions,
Christian, Buddhist, and Islamic with some systematic doctrines were founded,
all peoples in the world had been worshippers of nature. Our shintoism is
basically cult of nature, without any significant, systematic doctrines which
other 3 important world religions have. This cult of nature has survived up
to our present days, as Japanese people admitted 2 religions which coexist
even now.

But, threre were 2 stages of only several years of the conflicts between these 2
religiones in our long history. One conflict occured in 6th century just after the
introduction of Buddhism into Japan. Another conflict broke out in the first
few years of Meiji Era, after the the promulgation of the "Law for the
separation of Buddhism and Shintoism " ( 神仏分離令　－Shinbutsu Bunrirei）
in the first year of　Meiji Era. The law triggered the massive popular movements
of 廃仏希釈（　HAIBUTSU KISHAKU - ) ,the elimination of the buddhist images
in the Shintoist Temple, and getting rid of Buddhism. The government of Meiji stated
that the law was not intended to percute buddhists nor to suppress buddhism.
But, it is said that the half of the buddhist images, holy books, and buddist temples
were destroyed, and long tradition of one thousand year of the coexistance of Buddhism
and Shintoism was weeken. ( SHINBUTSU SYUUGOO ). The Shintoist temples had been
receiving the moral and financial support until the end of the Second World War.

The head of the powerful clan Soga, Soga Iname worshipped Buddha, and made some
buddhist images. Then, epidemics began runing rampant in many places of Japan.
The head of the Mononobe Clan, Momonobe no Moriya, traditional Shintoist, and
the Nakatomi Clan thought that the Japanese gods had become indignant against
the introduction of the foreign gods and destroyed many buddhist temples.

Umako 馬子,　ｔhe son of SOGA IRUKA. 蘇我入鹿　thought the war againt the tradional
shintoists became invevitable, and attacked them in 587, amd killed the head of
the Mononobe Clan, Mononobe no Moriya 物部守屋. In this war, Prince Shootoku,
at the age of 16, took part with　the Soga Clan, as he was a devout believer in
Buddhism and related to the Soga Clan on his mother's side.

In 603, he established the law of 12 ranks ( 冠位１２階　－KAN-I ZYUUNIKA ) for the
government officials. . The law stipulates that the ranks and the titles of the government
officials wwere determined by their merits, and not by their noble birth, and they are
not hereditary. .

In 607, he sent the delegation headed by 小野妹子　( ONONO IMOKO ) to the emperor
Yang Ti 煬帝　of the Sui 隋 Dynasty in China, with the letter addressed to the emperor
of China, saying " The Emperor - Heavenly king - of the Sun Rising Land addresses
himself respectfully to the Emperor of the Sun　Setting Land, asking how you excelency
is ". The emperor of China was enraged at the letter,because he thought that China was
in the center of the world surrounded by the uncivlized tributary contries and there
was no country equal to their civilization and power. He believed that all barbarian
neighboring countries should be subjugated to China of Sui Dynasty and should be
grateful to the influence of Chinese civilization.　But, hte displomatic relations were
established. The emperor of China was preparing to invade the kingdom of Goguryeo
in Korea, and it is good for China to have an alliance with China, and he sent an
ambassador 裴世清　（　Hai Sei Sei in Japanese ) who returned to China with the
second Japanese delegation.

I believe that Prince Shotoku did not intend to insult nor offend the Chinese Emperor.
He only wanted to express that Japan is an independent country and is not a tributary
country of China.

It is said that Imono Imoko lost the reply letter of the Chinese Emperor in the kingdom
of Paerkche. But, my wild imagination is that this is an invented story of the ambassador
Imoko. The fact may be, he did not want to hand the letter of indignation of the Chinese
emperor to the Japanese empress Suiko. He was a good diplomat, and as being so, he
wanted to maintain good diplomatic relations between 2 countries, and actually in spite
of letter, the diplomatic relations were maintained and he went to China 2 times more.

In spite of the letter taken for being insulting by the Chinese Emperor, the good relations
continued until the fall of Sui Dynasty in 618 under the same reign of Empress Suiko.

Prince Shotoku was not only a great statesman. He gave lectures on Buddhism to
Empress Suiko. He wrote some books on Buddhist philosophy. He was an educator,
scholar and a social worker.

The Shitennoji Temple had a school for studying Buddhism, a dispensary, a hospital,
and an asylum for the sich persons, and orphans, and aged people without their family
to take care of them. He was the first Japanese who had carried on the social welfare
policy. He also edited books of Japanese Ancient History.

From 1957 (32nd Year of Showa ) until 1986, " SHOOTOKU TAISHI " - Prince
Shotoku meant "a good amount of money " for Japanese people, as his protrait was
printed on the bills of ¥10,000 and of ¥5,000 In 1984, all the protraits of great
stetesmen in Japanese history, including the prince, were substituted for the portraits
of the great thinkers and the writer of the contemporary times of Meiji Era,and the
bank note of ¥10,000 with the portrait of the great thinker 福沢諭吉( Fukuzawa
Yukichi ) has not a value of " a nice amount of money"

People recall nostaligically the times .when ¥10,000 bill had a larger value than now,
and we continue to respect Shotoku Taishi for ever, bacause he is a person whom we
can be so pround of.