is a Buddhist temple located in the Oka neighborhood of the village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Shingon-shà « Buzan-ha sect and its honzon is a clay statue of Nyà Âirin Kannon Bosatsu. The temple's full name is Tà Âkà Â-zan Shinjà «in-in Ryà «gai-ji (æ±å Âå±± çÂÂç é¢ é¾ÂèÂÂ寺). The temple is the 7th stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage pilgrimage route.
The foundation of this temple is uncertain. According to the "Gien-den" in the "Tà Âdaiji Yoroku" and the "Fusà  Ryakuki", the temple was founded when the monk Gien (643-728) built a building on the site of the Okamiya Palace, the residence of Prince Kusakabe, the son of Emperor Tenmu who died in 689. According to the temple's legend, Gien sealed an evil dragon which had been tormenting the local residences in a pond and covered it with stones. This led the temple to become famous as a place for prayers to ward off evil, and it attracted numerous pilgrims from the Heian period onwards, and to the temple' formal name of . However, the first appearance of the temple in historical documentation is in an entry in the "Shà Âsà Âin Documents" in July 740.
The current temple is located on a hillside east of Asuka Village, and so the temple was nicknamed "Oka-dera"; however, roof tiles dating to the early Nara period have been excavated from the grounds of Haruta Shrine, adjacent to the west of the temple, and it is believed that this was the site of the temple when first constructed. The former site of Okadera was designated a National Historic Site in 2005. In 1982, an excavation by the Kashihara Archaeological Institute revealed that a 4.5meter-long line of tuff cut stones, thought to have marked the north side of a south-facing main hall measuring 7 bays (approximately 12.74 meters) by 4 bays (7.28 meters). The layout of other buildings and the temple complex is unknown.
Gien was the founder of the Hosso sect, and his disciples included Rà Âben and Gyà Âki, who were involved in the founding of Tà Âdai-ji. Oka-dera was a branch temple of Kofuku-ji, but gradually fell into decline. In the Edo period, it was restored by Hase-dera and converted into a Shingon temple.
The Main Hall of the temple was rebuilt in 1805 and is a Designated Tangible Cultural Property of Nara Prefecture. The Kaisan-dà  (Founder's Chapel) dates from 1797 and was relocated to Oka-dera in 1871 from Myà Âraku-ji (Tanzan Shrine) due to the Meiji government's edicts separating Buddhism from Shinto. The Rà Âmon gate is also a Nara Prefecture Designated Tangible Cultural Property. It was built in the Keichà  era (1596-1615) using materials from the three-story pagoda, which was started to be rebuilt in 1473 but never completed. The Nià Âmon gate is a National Important Cultural Property and was built in 1612, also from materials from the former three-story pagoda.