The Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin (本願寺派名古屋別院) is a

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran (founder) S ...

Buddhist temple located in Naka ward,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

in central

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 ...

. The temple is a short distance south of

Ōsu Kannon Station is an underground metro station located in Naka-ku, Nagoya, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan operated by the Nagoya Municipal Subway's Tsurumai Line. It is located 7.8 rail kilometers (4.8 rail miles) from the terminus of the Tsurumai L ...

. It is also known a ''Nishi Betsuin'' (西別院; "Western branch temple"), being associated with Nishi Hongan-ji (西本願寺) in Kyoto. It is contrasted with the

Ōtani-ha Ōtani-ha (真宗大谷派, ''Shinshū Ōtani-ha'') is a Japanese Buddhist movement. It belongs to , also known as Shin Buddhism (or True Pure Land). The movement has approximately 5.5 million members. The headquarters of Ōtani-ha are in Kyoto,< ...

temple of the same name, popularly known as ''Higashi Betsuin'' (東別院; "Eastern branch temple").

History

Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin - Owari Meisho Zue

Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin dates back to about 1500 CE when chief abbot Rennyo's 13th child, Renjun, built Ganshō-ji (願証寺) in the Japanese cedar groves of

Ise province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History The name of Ise appears ...

. The temple later fell on hard times and was renovated. In the early Edo period it was moved to the current location at the time of the construction of

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

. It was patronized by Baishō-in, concubine of Tokugawa Tsunanari (1652–1699), lord of the

Owari Domain The Owari-Han, also known as the Owari Domain, was a significant feudal domain in Tokugawa shogunate, Japan during the Edo period. Situated in the western region of what is now Aichi Prefecture, it covered portions of Owari Province, Owari, Mino ...

. On 5 October 1817,

Hokusai , known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Gr ...

visited the temple and, with the assistance of his disciples, painted the

Great Daruma The ''Great Daruma'' was a monumental portrait created by Japanese artist Hokusai on 5 October 1817. Also known as the ''Great Bodhidarma'', the work is a depiction of Bodhidharma, known in Japan as Bodhidharma, Daruma, a revered Buddhist monk of ...

on a sheet of paper measuring 18×10.8 metres, impressing many onlookers. For this feat, he received the name "''Darusen''" (a shortened form of ''Daruma

Sensei The term "先生", read in Chinese, in Japanese, in Korean, and in Vietnamese, is an honorific used in the Sinosphere. In Japanese, the term literally means "person born before another" or "one who comes before". It is generally used ...

''). Although the original was destroyed in 1945, promotional handbills from that time survived and are preserved at the

Nagoya City Museum The is a museum of the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The Nagoya City Museum was established in 1977. Its collection includes archaeological materials, fine art, crafts, documents, books and folk materials including samurai armor a ...

. According to several studies, a reproduction of the large painting was done at a large public event on 23 November 2017 to commemorate the 200-year anniversary of the painting, using the same size, techniques and material as the original. A prayer ceremony was done afterwards to bless the painting. In 1874, close to the temple, a medical training centre, the predecessor of

Nagoya University , abbreviated to or NU, is a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya. It was established in 1939 as the last of the nine Imperial Universities in the then Empire of Japan, and is now a Designated National Universit ...

's School of Medicine, was set up for medical research, practice and education. Later the centre was moved to Tennozaki on the banks of the Hori River. The wooden building and artwork were largely destroyed during the

bombing of Nagoya in World War II The by the United States Army Air Forces took place as part of the air raids on Japan during the closing months of the Pacific War in 1945. History The first strategic bombing attack on Nagoya was on April 18, 1942, as part of the Doolittl ...

in May 1945. It was rebuilt in a

Mauryan Dynasty The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

ancient Indian style. The wooden bell tower (''

shōrō The two main types of bell tower in Japan The or is the bell tower of a Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple in Japan, housing the temple's . It can also be found at some Shinto shrines which used to function as temples (see article ' ...

'') survived the war undamaged, and is said to be also donated by Baishō-in in

Kyōhō , also pronounced Kyōho, was a after '' Shōtoku'' and before ''Genbun.'' This period spanned the years from July 1716 through April 1736. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1716 : The era name of ''Kyōhō'' (meaning "Undergo ...

14 (1729). The bell is suspended on the lower level, different from the typical bell tower style. The carved sculptures are also of high quality. It was named a City-designated Cultural Property in 2017.

Features

On the grounds there is a bronze statue commemorating

Shinran ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'' by Esben Andreasen, pp. 13, 14, 15, 17. University of Hawaiʻi Press 1998, . was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent clos ...

, the founder of Jōdo Shinshū. The Hongan-ji Betsuin houses the ashes of deceased persons, which are kept in their urns in metal lockers on the ground floor. By request from relatives, monks will perform prayer services for a fee.

References

External links

Homepage of the Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin
{{Buddhist temples in Japan Buddhist temples in Nagoya Shinshū Honganji-ha temples Temples of Amitābha

History

Features

See also

References

External links