Zenko-ji in Nagano City, is a non-sectarian Buddhist temple and known as one of the pilgrimage spots. This temple traces its origin to the seventh century when Honda Yoshimitsu brought back to Nagano the oldest Buddha statue which had been introduced in Japan but dumped in Osaka in a controversy over nation’s adoption of Buddhism. The main hall, rebuilt in 1707, is the third largest wooden building in Japan that is registered as a National Treasure. One of its popular attractions is the pitch-black corridor where the pilgrims try to find “the key to paradise” under the floor of the main hall.
(善光寺は長野市にある無宗派の寺院で、巡礼の地としても知られる。7世紀に日本に伝えられた日本最古の仏像が、仏教の受容を巡っての(崇仏・廃仏)論争の最中に大阪(難波) に打ち捨てられていたものを、本田義光が長野に持ち帰ったのが寺の始まりとされる。 1707年に再建された本堂は、日本で3番目の規模を誇る木造建築で国宝ある。人気の名所の一つは、巡礼者が本堂床下で「極楽への錠前」を探す真っ暗な通路である)