is a Jōdō-shū

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

in the Tono Nakahara-cho neighborhood of the city of

Matsue is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. , the city had an estimated population of 196,748 in 91287 households and a population density of 340 persons per km². The total area of ...

Shimane Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a ge ...

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 ''

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.Iwanami kojien The name is derived from the term , which originally meant ju ...

'' of the

Matsudaira clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of the ...

, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of

Matsue Domain 270px, Surviving walls and moat of Matsue Castle 270px, Matsudaira Sadayasu, final ''daimyō'' of Matsue was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Shimane Prefecture. It was centered around ...

during 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 ...

. The ''daimyō'' cemetery containing the graves of nine generations of the rulers of Matsue was designated as a National Historic Site in 1996.

Overview

Gesshō-ji is located adjacent to Matsue Municipal First Junior High School. TIt was the location of a

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 ...

temple called Toun-ji, whch had been in ruins for a long time, but

Matsudaira Naomasa The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of the ...

, the first ''daimyō'' of Matsue, rebuilt it in 1664 as the ''bodaiji'' to house the

memorial tablet A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet is a placard that people used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or the past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. Wit ...

of his birth mother, whose

dharma name A Dharma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and Pabbajjā, monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The name is ...

was Gesshō-in. After Naomasa died in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

in 1666, his remains were taken back to Matsue per his deathbed wishes, and a mausoleum was built within the temple grounds. The gate of this mausoleum is a Shimane Prefecture Tangible Cultural Property. The mausoleums of the first to ninth ''daimyō'' remain in extremely good condition. The mausoleum of the seventh ''daimyō'', Matsudaira Harusato (Fumai), who was famous as a tea master, features magnificent wooden carvings, and its gate is also a Shimane Prefecture Tangible Cultural Property. The grave of the Edo period

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler

Raiden Tameemon Raiden Tameemon (雷電爲右衞門), born Seki Tarōkichi (January 1767 – 11 February, 1825), was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Tōmi, Nagano Prefecture. He is considered one of the greatest '' rikishi'' in history, although he was never prom ...

is also located at this temple. The temple was largely destroyed in a fire in 1716, but the main hall was rebuilt. Following 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 ...

, due to the government's anti-Buddhist movement, the main hall was destroyed again, but the graveyard remained almost completely intact. Gesshoji IMG 20161021 093141.jpg, Mausoleum of Matsudaira Harusato (Fumai) Gesshoji IMG 20161021 095337.jpg, Mausoleum of Matsudaira Harusato (Fumai) Gesshoji IMG 20161021 095337.jpg, Mausoleum of Matsudaira Harusato (Fumai) Gesshouji Juzouhi monument.JPG, The stone turtle, representing longevity Within the temple grounds is a large stone turtle on which a huge pillar is planted. According to legend, this pillar was planted in the turtle's back to prevent it from wandering at night terrorizing the inhabitants of Matsue. This legend appears in one of the tales of

Lafcadio Hearn was a Greek-born Irish and Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the Western world. His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legend ...

who worked for more than a year in the city as an English teacher in 1890. The temple is also known as the “temple of hydrangeas” which bloom there by the thousands in June.

References

External links

*
Shimane Prefecture Tourist Information official site
{{Buddhist temples in Japan Buddhist temples in Shimane Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Matsue, Shimane 1664 establishments in Japan Jōdo-shū temples Matsue-Matsudaira clan

Overview

See also

References

External links