, is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temple belonging to the

Myōshin-ji is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan, which serves as the head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The Myōshin-ji School is by far the largest school in Rinzai Zen, approximately as big as the other thirteen branches combined: ...

branch of the

Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...

school of Japanese

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 ...

. Located in the city of

Kōshū, Yamanashi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 29,659 in 13,141 households, and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is the home of th ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is the clan temple of the

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

, noted

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

warlords and rulers of Kai Province from the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

. Its main image is a statue of Shaka Nyōrai.

History

The temple founded in 1380 by Nikaidō Sadafuji, the ''

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

'' of Kai Province, who invited the noted Zen prelate

Musō Soseki was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligrapher, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as , an honorific conferred on him by Emperor Go-Daigo.''Musō Soseki'', Kyoto University His mother ...

from

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

to build a hermitage on his property. Due to the fame of Musō Soseki, it became the center for the dissemination of Rinzai teachings in Kao Province, and was named one of the Kantō Jissetsu by

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu ...

. However, the temple fell into ruin during the Onin War. It was revived in the Sengoku period by Takeda Harunobu in 1541.

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

made Kaisen Joki head priest in 1564. In 1582, Kai Province was invaded by an alliance between

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

and

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

. Eirin-ji was accused of sheltering Rokkaku Yoshisuke (a former enemy of the Oda), and the temple was completely destroyed. After Tokugawa Ieyasu became master of Kai Province, he ordered that the temple be rebuilt and in 1672, memorial services for Takeda Shingen were held. The temple continued to honor its connection with the Takeda clan through 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 ...

and even after the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. Most of the Edo period structures were lost in a fire of 1905.

Cultural properties

Important cultural properties

Erin-ji Gate

The is a wooden gate with four pillars and a cypress-shingle roof, built in 1606. It is the oldest remaining structures of the temple. It was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on August 28, 1907

''Tachi'' Japanese sword

The an Edo period

Japanese sword A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1,000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794–1185) to the ...

(''

tachi A is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and '' uchigatana'' ("''katana''") generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when she ...

''), with a length of 79.5 cm. It was made in 1705 and donated to the temple by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu on the occasion of the 133rd memorial services for Takeda Shigen. It was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on March 26, 1915.

''Tantō'' Japanese sword

The a

Nanboku-chō period The , also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336-1392 CE, during the formative years of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 ...

(''

Tantō A is a traditionally made Japanese knife () that was worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. were used in tradit ...

''), with a length of 27.4 cm. It was made in 1367 and donated to the temple by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu on the occasion of the 133rd memorial services for Takeda Shigen. It was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on March 26, 1915.

National Place of Scenic Beauty

Erin-ji gardens

The

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

at Erin-ji located behind the main hall of the temple was designed by Musō Soseki when he was 56 years old, and can be considered a prototype for similar gardens he designed for Saihō-ji and

Tenryū-ji , formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Bud ...

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 ...

. The garden covers approximately 2270 square meters, and contains a number of large stones, a pond with a small stream and a small waterfall, with the mountain in back forming part of a "borrowed landscape". It was designated as a National Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan on June 6, 1994. File:恵林寺 - panoramio.jpg, Erin-ji Gardens File:恵林寺 - panoramio (3).jpg, Erin-ji Gate (ICP) File:Grave of Takeda Shingen in Erinji.JPG, Grave of Takeda Shingen File:Erinji garden and Corridors.JPG,

Engawa An or is an edging strip of non-tatami-matted flooring in Japanese architecture, usually wood or bamboo. The may run around the rooms, on the outside of the building, in which case they resemble a porch or sunroom. Usually, the is outside t ...

overlooking Erin-ji Gardens

References

External links

Takeda Shigen Museum official site
{{Authority control Buddhist temples in Yamanashi Prefecture Kōshū, Yamanashi Rinzai temples Kai Province Places of Scenic Beauty Important Cultural Properties of Japan Myoshin-ji temples Temples of Gautama Buddha