Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji (永観堂禅林寺) is the head temple for the

Seizan Amida Hall at Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji, with the famous "Amida looking back" (Mikaeri Amida) statue. is a branch of Jōdo-shū Buddhism that was founded by Hōnen's disciple, Shōkū (1177–1247), who often went by the name ''Seizan.'' The name deri ...

branch of Japan's

Jōdo-shū Jōdo-shū (浄土宗, "The Pure Land School"), is a Japanese branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Kamakura era monk Hōnen (1133–1212). The school is traditionally considered as having been established in 1175 and i ...

(Pure Land) Buddhist sect, located in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Sakyō-ku. It was founded by Shinshō, a pupil of

Kūkai , born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the Vajrayana, esoteric Shingon Buddhism, Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) und ...

, and is famous for its

fall foliage Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon ...

and for its prominence in the past as a center of learning.

Names

The temple is commonly referred to as either just "Eikan-dō" (永観堂, "View of Eternity Hall" or "Hall of Yōkan"Though the characters 「永観」 are typically read as ''Eikan'', this name actually derives from that of the seventh head of the temple, Yōkan, who wrote his name with those same characters.) or "Zenrin-ji" (禅林寺, "Temple of Forest of

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

"). However, it also has two other names. "Shōju-raigō-san" (聖衆来迎山) translates roughly to "Mountain where the saints welcome you", while "Muryōsu-in" (無量寿院) means roughly "Temple of Immeasurable Life".

History

The temple got its start when Kūkai's pupil, the monk Shinshō, aspired to found a temple for the worship of the ''Gochi Nyorai'', or

Five Wisdom Buddhas 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

. In 853, he purchased the mansion of Fujiwara no Sekio for this purpose. The construction of temples was forbidden in Kyoto at the time, however, and so it was not until ten years later, when formal Imperial approval was granted by

Emperor Seiwa was the 56th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 清和天皇 (56)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876. Traditional narrative Seiwa was the fourth ...

, that the Zenrin-ji was formally founded. Though originally devoted to the

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

sect, beginning in the time of

Yōkan is a wagashi made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar. It is usually sold in a block form, and eaten in slices. There are two main types: ''neri yōkan'' and ''mizu yōkan''. means "water", and indicates that it is made with more water than us ...

(永観, 1033-1111), the seventh head monk, the temple began to shift towards

, a sect formally established roughly a century later in 1175. Yōkan had trained in a number of temples of different disciplines in

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, and was a passionate devotee of the

Amida Buddha Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Roma ...

. In 1072, he established a ''Yakuō-in'' (薬王院) on the grounds, which organized giving to the needy and caring for the ill. He also introduced the practice of ''

Nenbutsu 250px, Chinese Nianfo carving The Nianfo ( zh, t= 念佛, p=niànfó, alternatively in Japanese ; ; or ) is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. The Chinese term ''nianfo'' is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' ("recollection of the ...

'', a Chinese practice which was quite new in Japan, into the temple, and cultivated its observance among the monks and devotees. Zenrin-ji has grown famous for its unusual statue of the Amida Buddha, which looks over its shoulder, rather than straight ahead. In Japanese this is called the ''Mikaeri Amida''. According to tradition, at one point in 1082, when Yōkan was fifty, he and a number of monks were practicing a ritual, walking around the statue and reciting

sutras ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

when the statue of Amida came to life and stepped down from its dais. Yōkan halted the ritual in surprise; the Buddha looked over its shoulder at the monk, and said to him, "Yōkan you are slow". Ever since then, goes the story, the posture of this statue has remained in that position. Alternate versions of the story involve the Buddha joining the monks in a ritual dance. The twelfth head of the temple, Jōhen (1166-1224), originally a Shingon monk like the rest at Zenrin-ji, was a disciple of

Hōnen , also known as Genkū, was the founding figure of the , the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and sought an approach to Buddhism that all people of all ...

, one of the founders of Jōdo-shū; Jōhen was thus the first head of Zenrin-ji to be a formal devotee of this emerging sect. He was succeeded as head monk by

Shōkū , sometimes called , was a disciple of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdo-shū Buddhist sect. Shōkū later succeeded Jōhen, a Shingon monk with an affinity for Pure Land Buddhism, as the head Eikandō (itself a former Shingon temple). Shōkū then e ...

(1177-1247), and it was under Shōkū's successor, Shōon (1201-1271), that the temple formally became devoted to ''Jōdo-shū''.

Grounds

The Zenrin-ji compound is nestled in Kyoto's Eastern Mountain (''Higashiyama''), and its buildings, most of them connected by covered walkways and staircases, are scattered among a range of heights. *Main gate - the ''Kōrai-mon'' (高麗門) is named after the ancient Korean kingdom of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

(''Kōrai'' in Japanese). The current structure dates from the late Edo period (mid-19th century). *Inner gate - the ''Yakui-mon'' (薬医門), along with the ''Kōrai-mon'', derive from the fortress gates that would have surrounded the aristocratic mansion before it became a temple. Their placement and architecture are said to still reflect these origins today. The current structure dates to 1744. *Founder's Hall (御影堂, ''Goe-dō'') - enshrines and honors Hōnen, the founder of Jōdo-shū. The current structure was completed in 1912, and is larger than the Amida Hall. *Amida Hall (阿弥陀堂, ''Amida-dō'') - the famous Amida statue which is the central object of worship for the temple, is enshrined here. The hall is seated higher on the mountain than the Founder's Hall; the current structure was built at the beginning of the 17th century. *''

Tahōtō A is a form of Japanese pagoda found primarily at Vajrayana, Esoteric Shingon and Tendai school Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temples. It is unique among pagodas because it has an even number of stories (two). (The second story has ...

'' - the temple's tower is situated at the highest point in the compound, and offers the greatest view of the scenery. The current structure was completed in 1928. *Zen Chief Priests' Chamber (方丈, ''Hōjō'') - despite Zenrin-ji's name, it is not a temple of

Buddhism; nevertheless, the compound includes this priests' chamber in the Zen style. Its construction is said to have been ordered by Emperor Go-Kashiwabara (r. 1500-1526), but was not built until the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

Treasures

In addition to the famous Amida statue, which is designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government, there are a great many cultural treasures stored in Zenrin-ji's ''Tahōtō''. These primary consist of

paintings Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or " support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush. Other implements, ...

of a variety of Buddhist subjects, including images of Amida, Shakyamuni,

Yakushi Nyorai Bhaiṣajyaguru (, zh, t= , , , , ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabha-rāja ("Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light"; zh, t=藥師琉璃光(王)如來, , , ), is the Buddha of healing and medicine i ...

, and the

Parinirvana In Buddhism, ''Parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained '' nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the '' ...

of the Buddha. Paintings by

Kanō Motonobu was a Japanese people, Japanese Japanese painting, painter and Japanese calligraphy, calligrapher. He was a member of the Kanō school of painting. Through his political connections, patronage, organization, and influence he was able to make the ...

Tosa Mitsunobu was a Japanese painter, the founder of the Tosa school of Japanese painting. Born into a family that had traditionally served as painters to the Imperial court, he was head of the court painting bureau from 1493 to 1496. In 1518, he was appointe ...

, and

Hasegawa Tōhaku was a Japanese Painting, painter and founder of the Hasegawa school. He is considered one of the great painters of the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573-1603), and he is best known for his folding screens, such as ''Shōrin-zu byōbu, Pine Trees ...

are also kept by the temple. The wooden Amida statue is 77 cm in height, and though for a long time believed to date from the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

(1185-1333), is now thought to have been carved somewhat earlier in the 12th century (

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, 794-1185). This change in dating came about with the comparison to

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

(960-1279) sculptures in

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

Province which show strong similarities in style. Zenrin-ji's Amida statue was formally named an Important Cultural Property in 1999.

Gallery

Kyoto Eikan-do Zenrin-ji Tempelgebäude Innen 10.jpg Kyoto Eikan-do Zenrin-ji Tempelgebäude Innen 01.jpg Kyoto Eikan-do Zenrin-ji Amida Hall Innen 2.jpg File:Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, November 2016 -01.jpg File:Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, November 2016 -02.jpg File:Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, November 2016 -03.jpg File:Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, November 2016 -04.jpg

References

External links

Official Site (Japanese)Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eikando Zenrinji 9th-century Buddhist temples Buddhist temples in Kyoto Prefecture Monzeki Temples of Amitābha Kyoto Prefecture designated tangible cultural property Jōdo-shū temples