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As i found in jisho dictionary here

[https://jisho.org/search/%23kanji%20寺](https://jisho.org/search/%23kanji%20%E5%AF%BA)

This word "国分寺" means "state-supported provincial temple"

国 means "state or region" and i understand why it is in the word

寺 means "temple" and of course it must be part of this word

But what is the function of 分 here?
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2019-03-14T04:00:04.267
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2019-03-15T03:36:09.623
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kanji
What does 分 means in "国分寺"?
Its English translation does not express the meaning of '分'. Also, '国' means
national and country here rather than state or province. According to
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincial_temple), "Buddhist
temples established **in each of the provinces** of Japan". So, here '分' means
split up '国'. That is why a lot of this kind of temples exist everywhere in
Japan. You can see its detailed explanations
[here](https://jisho.org/word/%E5%88%86-2).
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2019-03-15T02:10:50.827
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According to this Wikipedia article...

  * <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%BD%E5%88%86%E5%AF%BA>

I take it that the 分 in 国分寺 means... _(please note the **bolded** text)_

>
> 『続日本紀』『類聚三代格』によれば、天平13年（741年）2月14日（日付は『類聚三代格』による）、聖武天皇から「国分寺建立の詔」が出された。その内容は、
> **各国{かっこく}に**
> 七重塔を建て、『金光明最勝王経（金光明経）』と『妙法蓮華経（法華経）』を写経すること、自らも金字の『金光明最勝王経』を写し、塔ごとに納めること、
> **国{くに}ごとに** 国分僧寺と国分尼寺を1つずつ設置し、僧寺の名は金光明四天王護国之寺、尼寺の名は法華滅罪之寺とすることなどである。

...that「国 **分** 」is a way to show that **_each_** kuni (regional division)
would get **_their own_** 寺
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2019-03-15T03:36:09.623
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