jingūji　神宮寺

Also called jingoji 神護寺, jingū'in 神宮院, jinganji 神願寺, miyadera 宮寺, or bettōji 別当寺. Buddhist temples that were established on the grounds of Shinto shrines. Jingū 神宮 (palace of the Gods) refers to a Shinto shrine, while ji 寺 means a Buddhist temple.
From the Nara period to the Meiji period, there was a certain degree of amalgamation of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. The mixture of faiths became known as *honji suijaku 本地垂述.
Since there are no extant remains of the original Buddhist temple buildings that were a part of the jingūji plan, information is drawn from ancient drawings and old records. They show that there were several buildings that belonged to the temple, including a main hall called honjidō 本地堂, a pagoda, priests' quarters called *betsuin 別院, a 2-storied gate with a corridor attached. The main priest was called shasō 社僧, a term which demonstrates his dual role: sha being a term Shito and sō a Buddhist priest. This arrangement flourished especially at Esoteric temples mikkyōjiin 密教寺院. Early known examples include: Kehi Jingūji 気比神宮寺 constructed for Kehi Daijin 気比大神 in Fukui Prefecture by Fujiwara Muchimaro 藤原武智麻呂 (680-737), a vassal of Emperor Genshō 元正 (680-748); Kashima Jingūji 鹿島神宮寺 originally built between 749-756 by the priest Mangan 満願 in Ibaraki Prefecture; Mangan was also responsible for the construction of Tado Jingūji 多度神宮寺 (763) in Nara. Two rebuilt examples are Kamo Jingūji 鴨神宮寺 in Kyoto, and Kasuga Taisha Jingūji 春日大社神宮寺 in Nara.