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Jōmyō-ji (Kamakura)
Encyclopedia
is a Zen
Buddhist temple
of the Rinzai sect, Kenchō-ji
school, in Kamakura
, Kanagawa Prefecture
, Japan
. Jōmyō-ji is Number Five of the five temples known as Kamakura Gozan
("Kamakura's Five Mountains"), and the only one of the five not founded by a member of the Hōjō clan
. Jōmyō-ji has instead, as nearby Zuisen-ji
, deep ties with the Ashikaga clan
, and was one of the family's funeral temples (bodaiji
). For this reason the family's kamon, or crest, is ubiquitous on its premises. The first three characters of its full name mean "Inari
mountain", presumably from the hill of the same name where it stands, in its turn named after an ancient Inari myth (see below). Jōmyō-ji has given its name to the surrounding area, the characters for which have been however deliberately changed from to .
temple with the name Gokuraku-ji but, soon after the first Japanese Zen
monastery, nearby Kenchō-ji
, was founded in 1253, the temple's head priest Geppō Ryōnen changed its denomination to Rinzai and its name to the present one. The date when this happened isn't known exactly, but it's thought to lie between 1257 and 1288. Ashikaga Sadauji, father of future shogun Ashikaga Takauji
, was Jōmyō-ji's sponsor and, with his help, it quickly grew in size and importance. (The temple's name actually derives from Jōmyōjiden, Sadauji's posthumous name.) We know for example that in 1323 fifty of Jōmyō-ji priests participated at a ceremony in memory of Hōjō Sadatoki
and that at the time the temple was ranked tenth for importance in Kamakura. According to the Taiheiki
, at the end of his life Ashikaga Tadayoshi
was imprisoned and then poisoned here.
In the second half of the 14th century shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
in Kyoto formally established the network of Zen temples called Five Mountain System (Gozan seido in Japanese) to help the shogunate rule the country. Jōmyō-ji was fifth of the Kamakura Gozan, the five temples which presided over the system's Kantō
sector, and was given facilities worthy of its status, including over 20 . However, in 1438 Kamakura Kubō Ashikaga Mochiuji
rebelled against Kyoto's shogunate, was defeated and was forced to kill himself to avoid capture. After his death Kamakura's decline, which had started when shogun Ashikaga Takauji
had decided to move his capital to Kyoto, accelerated further, and the Kamakura Gozan followed the city into obscurity and neglect. When poet Gyōe in the summer of 1487 visited the temple, found it invaded by grasses and moss. During the turbulent Sengoku period
Jōmyō-ji, as the city in general, was to suffer a lot of violence and destruction.
For the role it had in the area's history, Jōmyō-ji has been declared a National Historical Site.
After the main gate (sanmon
) in the middle of the temple's large garden stands the Main Hall (the Hon-dō, see photo above). Its structure is however not that of a typical Zen
Butsuden, but rather that of a 8×6 hōjō (chief priest's living quarters) with raised floors. Destroyed by fire in 1748, it was rebuilt in 1754 using in part original Muromachi period
timber salvaged from the old edifice. The main object of worship is a seated figure of Shaka Nyorai carved in wood during the Nanboku-chō period. The temple also owns a seated figure of founding priest Taikō Gyōyū (the temple's only Important Cultural Property
), a statue of goddess Shō-Kannon, another of Fujiwara no Kamatari
(an ancestor of the Fujiwara clan), and one of Kōjin, the god of the kitchen and cooking. The hōkyōintō
in the cemetery behind the Hon-dō is said to be Ashikaga Sadauji's grave, but the attribution has been questioned by scholars because of the date it bears, sixty years after Sadauji's recorded date of death. The temple includes a recently restored tea house called where monks used to meet to have tea, but which is now open to the public. In front of the tea house lies a karesansui, or Zen rock garden. On the premises there is also a restaurant and bakery owned and operated by the temple itself.
Near the temple can be found the ruins of , Ashikaga Tadayoshi
's family temple
(he was often called ) where he was buried after he died.
On the hill behind the temple lies a small shrine called which, in spite of its insignificant appearance, is of a certain historical importance both because of its age (it dates back to the seventh century) and its role in a legend related to Kamakura's name.
The plaque next to the shrine explains that kami Inari gave young Fujiwara no Kamatari
a sickle which would magically protect him as long as it was in his possession. In 645 A.D., having defeated Soga no Iruka
, Kamatari came to the Kantō and there he dreamed of Inari, who told him:
"I gave you the sickle to protect you, but now that you have achieved your goal of defeating Iruka, you must give it back to me and to the land."
Kamatari buried the sickle, and on the spot was erected the shrine that carries his name. According to the same legend, the name Kamakura means "the place where Kamatari buried his sickle".
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhist temple
Buddhist temples in Japan
Along with Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples are the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan.The term "Shinto shrine" is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist religious structures. In...
of the Rinzai sect, Kenchō-ji
Kencho-ji
Kenchō-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. These temples were at the top of the Five Mountain System, a network of Zen temples started by the Hōjō...
school, in Kamakura
Kamakura, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...
, Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Jōmyō-ji is Number Five of the five temples known as Kamakura Gozan
Five Mountain System
The system, more commonly called simply Five Mountain System, was a network of state-sponsored Zen Buddhist temples created in China during the Southern Song Dynasty . The term "mountain" in this context means "temple" or "monastery", and was adopted because many monasteries were built on isolated...
("Kamakura's Five Mountains"), and the only one of the five not founded by a member of the Hōjō clan
Hojo clan
See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...
. Jōmyō-ji has instead, as nearby Zuisen-ji
Zuisen-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's near Kamakura, Japan. During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura : four of the five kubō are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public and first kubō Ashikaga Motouji's is also known...
, deep ties with the Ashikaga clan
Ashikaga clan
The ' was a prominent Japanese samurai clan which established the Muromachi shogunate and ruled Japan from roughly 1336 to 1573.The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originally from the town of Ashikaga in Shimotsuke province .For about a century the clan was...
, and was one of the family's funeral temples (bodaiji
Bodaiji
A , in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor. The name is because in Japan the term , which originally meant just Buddhist enlightenment , has also come to mean either the...
). For this reason the family's kamon, or crest, is ubiquitous on its premises. The first three characters of its full name mean "Inari
Inari (mythology)
is the Japanese kami of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry and worldly success and one of the principal kami of Shinto. Represented as male, female, or androgynous, Inari is sometimes seen as a collective of three or five individual kami...
mountain", presumably from the hill of the same name where it stands, in its turn named after an ancient Inari myth (see below). Jōmyō-ji has given its name to the surrounding area, the characters for which have been however deliberately changed from to .
History
Jōmyō-ji was founded in 1188 by priest Taikō Gyōyū 退耕行勇 (1163–1241) as a MikkyōMikkyo
Mikkyō is a Japanese term that refers to the esoteric Vajrayāna practices of the Shingon Buddhist school and the related practices that make up part of the Tendai school. There are also various Shingon- and Tendai-influenced practices of Shugendō...
temple with the name Gokuraku-ji but, soon after the first Japanese Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
monastery, nearby Kenchō-ji
Kencho-ji
Kenchō-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. These temples were at the top of the Five Mountain System, a network of Zen temples started by the Hōjō...
, was founded in 1253, the temple's head priest Geppō Ryōnen changed its denomination to Rinzai and its name to the present one. The date when this happened isn't known exactly, but it's thought to lie between 1257 and 1288. Ashikaga Sadauji, father of future shogun Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...
, was Jōmyō-ji's sponsor and, with his help, it quickly grew in size and importance. (The temple's name actually derives from Jōmyōjiden, Sadauji's posthumous name.) We know for example that in 1323 fifty of Jōmyō-ji priests participated at a ceremony in memory of Hōjō Sadatoki
Hojo Sadatoki
was the ninth shikken of the Kamakura shogunate , and Tokuso from his appointment as regent until his death....
and that at the time the temple was ranked tenth for importance in Kamakura. According to the Taiheiki
Taiheiki
The is a Japanese historical epic , written in the late 14th century. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino....
, at the end of his life Ashikaga Tadayoshi
Ashikaga Tadayoshi
was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period of Japanese history and a close associate of his elder brother Takauji, the first Muromachi shogun. Son of Ashikaga Sadauji and of a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige, the same mother as Takauji, he was a pivotal figure of the chaotic transition...
was imprisoned and then poisoned here.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
was the 3rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who ruled from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was the son of the second shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira....
in Kyoto formally established the network of Zen temples called Five Mountain System (Gozan seido in Japanese) to help the shogunate rule the country. Jōmyō-ji was fifth of the Kamakura Gozan, the five temples which presided over the system's Kantō
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
sector, and was given facilities worthy of its status, including over 20 . However, in 1438 Kamakura Kubō Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji was the Kamakura-fu's fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period in Japan. During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all-time low. Kamakura was finally attacked by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori and retaken by force...
rebelled against Kyoto's shogunate, was defeated and was forced to kill himself to avoid capture. After his death Kamakura's decline, which had started when shogun Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...
had decided to move his capital to Kyoto, accelerated further, and the Kamakura Gozan followed the city into obscurity and neglect. When poet Gyōe in the summer of 1487 visited the temple, found it invaded by grasses and moss. During the turbulent Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
Jōmyō-ji, as the city in general, was to suffer a lot of violence and destruction.
Points of interest
After the main gate (sanmon
Sanmon
A , also called is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen shichidō garan, the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple. It can be however often found in temples of other denominations too...
) in the middle of the temple's large garden stands the Main Hall (the Hon-dō, see photo above). Its structure is however not that of a typical Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Butsuden, but rather that of a 8×6 hōjō (chief priest's living quarters) with raised floors. Destroyed by fire in 1748, it was rebuilt in 1754 using in part original Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
timber salvaged from the old edifice. The main object of worship is a seated figure of Shaka Nyorai carved in wood during the Nanboku-chō period. The temple also owns a seated figure of founding priest Taikō Gyōyū (the temple's only Important Cultural Property
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....
), a statue of goddess Shō-Kannon, another of Fujiwara no Kamatari
Fujiwara no Kamatari
Fujiwara no Kamatari was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Asuka period.Kamatari was the founder of the Fujiwara clan in Japan. His birth clan was the Nakatomi. He was the son of Nakatomi no Mikeko, and his birth name was Nakatomi no Kamatari...
(an ancestor of the Fujiwara clan), and one of Kōjin, the god of the kitchen and cooking. The hōkyōintō
Hokyointo
A is a Japanese pagoda, so called because it originally contained the sūtra. A Chinese varianto of the Indian stūpa, it was originally conceived as a cenotaph of the King of Wuyue - Qian Liu.- Structure and function :...
in the cemetery behind the Hon-dō is said to be Ashikaga Sadauji's grave, but the attribution has been questioned by scholars because of the date it bears, sixty years after Sadauji's recorded date of death. The temple includes a recently restored tea house called where monks used to meet to have tea, but which is now open to the public. In front of the tea house lies a karesansui, or Zen rock garden. On the premises there is also a restaurant and bakery owned and operated by the temple itself.
Near the temple can be found the ruins of , Ashikaga Tadayoshi
Ashikaga Tadayoshi
was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period of Japanese history and a close associate of his elder brother Takauji, the first Muromachi shogun. Son of Ashikaga Sadauji and of a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige, the same mother as Takauji, he was a pivotal figure of the chaotic transition...
's family temple
Bodaiji
A , in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor. The name is because in Japan the term , which originally meant just Buddhist enlightenment , has also come to mean either the...
(he was often called ) where he was buried after he died.
The origins of the name Kamakura
The plaque next to the shrine explains that kami Inari gave young Fujiwara no Kamatari
Fujiwara no Kamatari
Fujiwara no Kamatari was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Asuka period.Kamatari was the founder of the Fujiwara clan in Japan. His birth clan was the Nakatomi. He was the son of Nakatomi no Mikeko, and his birth name was Nakatomi no Kamatari...
a sickle which would magically protect him as long as it was in his possession. In 645 A.D., having defeated Soga no Iruka
Soga no Iruka
was a statesman in the Asuka Period of Japan.He was a son of Soga no Emishi. He was assassinated by Prince Naka-no-Ōe though he tried to murder Prince Yamashiro, and to rule the emperor family. Emishi also committed suicide soon after his son's death, and the main branch of the Soga clan went...
, Kamatari came to the Kantō and there he dreamed of Inari, who told him:
"I gave you the sickle to protect you, but now that you have achieved your goal of defeating Iruka, you must give it back to me and to the land."
Kamatari buried the sickle, and on the spot was erected the shrine that carries his name. According to the same legend, the name Kamakura means "the place where Kamatari buried his sickle".
See also
- The Glossary of Japanese BuddhismGlossary of Japanese BuddhismThis is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries...
for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture.