, or , is an Omuro Buddhist
templeA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
located in Ume-ga-hata Toganoo-chō, Ukyō Ward,
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
. The temple was founded by famous monk
MyōeMyōe , was a Japanese Buddhist monk active during the Kamakura period who also went by the name Kōben . He was originally ordained in the Shingon school, although in the latter half of his career he served as abbot of Kōzanji, a temple of the Kegon sect...
and is renowned for its numerous national treasures and important cultural properties, in particular the famous picture scroll called
Chōjū-giga, commonly shortened to is a famous set of four picture scrolls belonging to Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. The Chōjū-giga scrolls are also referred to as Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans in English. Some think that Toba Sōjō created the scrolls, however...
. The temple celebrates Biyakkōshin, Zenmyōshin and Kasuga Myōjin, as well as the temple's tutelary Shintō deity. In 1994, it was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "
Historic Monuments of Ancient KyotoThe UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto encompasses 17 locations in Japan. The locations are in three cities: Kyoto and Uji in Kyoto Prefecture and Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. Thirteen are Buddhist temples; three are Shinto shrines and one is a castle...
".
Togano, located deep in the mountains behind
Jingo-jiis a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It stands on Mount Takao to the northwest of the center of the city. The temple adheres to Shingon Buddhism. Its honzon is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing or "Medicine Buddha"....
temple, which are famous for their autumn foliage, is considered an ideal location for mountain asceticism, and there have long been many small temples in this location.
, or , is an Omuro Buddhist
templeA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
located in Ume-ga-hata Toganoo-chō, Ukyō Ward,
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
. The temple was founded by famous monk
MyōeMyōe , was a Japanese Buddhist monk active during the Kamakura period who also went by the name Kōben . He was originally ordained in the Shingon school, although in the latter half of his career he served as abbot of Kōzanji, a temple of the Kegon sect...
and is renowned for its numerous national treasures and important cultural properties, in particular the famous picture scroll called
Chōjū-giga, commonly shortened to is a famous set of four picture scrolls belonging to Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. The Chōjū-giga scrolls are also referred to as Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans in English. Some think that Toba Sōjō created the scrolls, however...
. The temple celebrates Biyakkōshin, Zenmyōshin and Kasuga Myōjin, as well as the temple's tutelary Shintō deity. In 1994, it was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "
Historic Monuments of Ancient KyotoThe UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto encompasses 17 locations in Japan. The locations are in three cities: Kyoto and Uji in Kyoto Prefecture and Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. Thirteen are Buddhist temples; three are Shinto shrines and one is a castle...
".
History
Togano, located deep in the mountains behind
Jingo-jiis a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It stands on Mount Takao to the northwest of the center of the city. The temple adheres to Shingon Buddhism. Its honzon is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing or "Medicine Buddha"....
temple, which are famous for their autumn foliage, is considered an ideal location for mountain asceticism, and there have long been many small temples in this location. In addition to Kozan-ji, there have been other temples in the area, such as and . According to legend, these were said to have been established by the imperial orders of
Emperor Kōninwas the 49th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 770 through 781.-Genealogy:...
in 774, however, the accuracy of these claims is not clear.
In 1206,
MyōeMyōe , was a Japanese Buddhist monk active during the Kamakura period who also went by the name Kōben . He was originally ordained in the Shingon school, although in the latter half of his career he served as abbot of Kōzanji, a temple of the Kegon sect...
, a Kegon Buddhist priest who had been serving at nearby Jingo-ji, was granted the land to construct a temple by
Emperor Go-Tobawas the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198....
. He selected the name . The temple's name was taken from a line in the Avatamsaka sutra: .
The temple was destroyed numerous times by fire and war. The oldest extant building is , which dates from the Kamakura Period.
Layout
Jingo-ji houses a diagram of Kōzan-ji that was drawn in 1230, some 20 years after it was constructed. The diagram is registered as an important cultural property, because it shows the original layout of the temple. From the diagram, we know that Kōzan-ji originally consisted of a large gate, a main hall, a three-storied pagoda, a hall dedicated to
AmitabhaAmitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism. Amitabha is the principal buddha in the Pure Land sect, a branch of Buddhism practiced mainly in East Asia...
, a hall dedicated to
LohanLohan can refer to:People* Dina Lohan , self proclaimed "momager" to daughters Aliana and Lindsay Lohan* Aliana Lohan, American actress/singer/model, younger sister of Lindsay Lohan...
, a bell tower, a scripture hall, and a
Shintoor kami-no-michi is the natural spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. The word Shinto was adopted from the written Chinese , combining two kanji: , meaning gods or spirits ; and , or "do" meaning a philosophical path or study...
shrine dedicated to the tutelary deity of the area. However, all of these buildings have since been destroyed, save for the scripture hall, which is now known as Sekisui-in.
In addition to Sekisui-in, today's Kōzan-ji also contains a main hall (originally part of
Ninna-jiis a large Omuro-ha Shingon Buddhist temple complex in western Kyoto, Japan, founded in AD 888 by the retired Emperor Uda. It is part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto", a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Ninna-ji was founded in the early Heian period...
, relocated to Kōzan-ji) and a hall dedicated to the founding of the temple, which houses an important carved wooden bust of Myōe. Both of these buildings, however, are modern reconstructions.
Cultural Properties
The temple possesses numerous
national treasuresThe Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the government of Japan designates the most precious of the nation's cultural properties as National Treasures...
and important cultural properties, however, the majority of them are currently on loan to national museums in Kyoto and
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
.
National Treasures
- Sekisui-in - Built in the Kamakura Period. Irimoyazukuri style, having a gabled, hipped, shingled roof.
- Chōjū-giga
, commonly shortened to is a famous set of four picture scrolls belonging to Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. The Chōjū-giga scrolls are also referred to as Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans in English. Some think that Toba Sōjō created the scrolls, however...
- The first mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
. - created in the Kamakura period, this picture scroll portrays the lives of Korean Kegon founders UisangUisang was one of the most eminent early Silla Korean scholar-monks, a close friend of Wonhyo .He traveled to China, studying at Mount Zhongnan as a student of the influential Huayan master Zhiyan and as a senior colleague of Fazang , with whom he established a life-long correspondence...
and WonhyoWonhyo was one of the leading thinkers, writers and commentators of the Korean Buddhist tradition. Essence-Function , a key concept in Southeast Asian Buddhism and particularly that of Korean Buddhism, was refined in the syncretic philosophy and worldview of Wonhyo.With his life spanning the end...
. - A portrait of Myōe also known as and created during the Kamakura period. In contrast to the standard image of a Buddhist monk, this picture features a tiny Myōe surrounded by mountains. - A portrait created in the Kamakura Period at the end of the 12th century. - a Tang periodThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
copy of a ChineseA Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese , Japanese , less frequently Korean , and formerly Vietnamese , and other languages...
dictionary created during the Liang DynastyLiang Dynasty , also known as Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Chen Dynasty...
. This is the oldest Chinese character dictionary in Japan. - valued as the only remaining copy of an old kanji dictionary compiled by KūkaiKūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism...
. It was copied in 1114. - A Tang period collection of Buddhist tales. Now disappeared from China, this is the only known copy in existence.
Important Cultural Properties
An incredible number of buildings, picture scrolls, carvings, furnishings and old writings have been registered as important cultural properties. The most significant among these include:
- A lacquered wooden statue of Bhaisajyaguru in seated posture created towards the end of the Nara period. Originally the center of a sanzonzō (a trio of Buddhist statues with the primary image in the center and flanked by two attendants), the attendant images were removed during the Meiji period. The image of Suryaprabha now rests in the Tokyo National Museum, and the image of the Chandraprabha
Chandraprabha was the eighth Jain Tirthankar of the present age . According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Chandraprabha was born to King Mahasen Raja and Queen Lakshmana Devi at Chandrapuri in the Ikshvaku clan...
in the university museum of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Musicor is one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Senju, Adachi, Tokyo...
.
- A wooden statue of Myoe in sitting posture created in the Kamakura Period and located in the hall dedicated to the founding of the temple.
- A pair of wooden deer statues created in the Kamakura period. These statues, of a buck and a doe, were uniquely constructed to look like komainu, the lion statues that guard the entrance to a Shinto shrine. Deer are messengers of Kasuga Myōjin, the temple god, and as such, it is believed that these statues were placed in front of Kasuga Myōjin's altar.
- A statue of Biyakkoshin in standing posture, constructed in the early Kamakura period. As the name indicates, the statue is painted white in its entirety--from its clothes to the pedestal. This is said to represent the snow of the Himalayas.
- A wooden statue of Zenmyōshin constructed in the early Kamakura period. Much of the vivid paint still remains, and this statue, along with Biyakkō-shin, is said to be the work of famed Buddhist sculptor Tankei
Tankei was a Japanese sculptor of the Kei school, which flourished in the Kamakura period. He was the student of and son of the master sculptor Unkei.-Famous Works:...
.
- The Kōzan-ji document archive, which contains thousands of scriptures and records, some of which date back to the Heian Period. - a record of Myōe's dreams from 1196 to 1223. His dreams are said to have exerted a great deal of influence on his religious thinking.
See also
External links