, originally Kōgaku-an, 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
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,
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 head temple of one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school. Its main image is a statue of
Shaka Nyōrai. The temple, including its famed
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 ...
is not open to the general public.
History
The temple founded as a hermitage in 1380 by
Bassui Tokushō, a noted Zen prelate from
Sagami Province
was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu Province, Izu ...
, who had trained with
Sōtō
Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...
, Rinzai and
Ch'an
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song d ...
traditions. Due to the growing popularity of his teachings, he moved further and further into the countryside seeking the peace required for his meditations. His popularity continued after his death, and
Emperor Go-Kameyama designated the temple as a ''chokugan-ji'', or "temple to pray for the nation" during the civil wars of the
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 ...
. The temple was heavily sponsored by 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 ...
, who were the rulers of
Kai Province and was awarded with estates and built numerous subsidiary temples and chapels. However, after the fall of the Takeda clan and the establishment of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
in 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 temple gradually fell from prosperity and many of its subsidiary temples were abolished or joined other branches of the Rinzai school. In 1782 much of the original temple complex was destroyed in a fire. After the start of the
Meiji period
The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...
, it became part of the
Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai. It recovered its status as the head temple of its own branch of Rinzai in 1908. Kōgaku-ji today governs eight sub-temples and fifty temple affiliates.
[Yiqiao Gu, 165]
Cultural properties
National Treasures
Kōgaku-ji painting of Daruma
The at Kōgaku-ji is
hanging scroll
A hanging scroll is one of the many traditional ways to display and exhibit East Asian painting and calligraphy. They are different from handscrolls, which are narrower and designed to be viewed flat on a table.
Hanging scrolls are generally i ...
in colored ink on paper, depicting
Daruma with red robes, seated in a formal pose. The painting dates from approximately the 1260s, and has an inscription by
Lanxi Daolong
Lanxi Daolong ( zh, t=蘭溪道隆, s=兰溪道隆, first=t, p=Lánxī Dàolóng, w=Lan-hsi Tao-long; ; c. 1213–1278), born in Sichuan Province, China in 1213 A.D. (Southern Song dynasty), was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, ideali ...
, the famed priest and head abbot of
Kenchō-ji
Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the ''Kamakura Gozan'') and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Jap ...
in Kamakura. The scroll measures 123.3 cm × 61.2 cm (48.5 in × 24.1 in). The painting was made by an unknown Japanese painter who was strongly influenced by the
Southern Song
The Song dynasty ( ) was an 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 Ten Kingdoms, ending ...
style. It was designated a
National Treasure of Japan on November 14, 1953
Important cultural properties
Kōgaku-ji Central Gate
The is a wooden gate with four pillars and a cypress-shingle roof, dating 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 ...
and is one of the oldest remaining structures of the temple. It was designated an
Important Cultural Property of Japan on June 22, 1971
Portrait painting of Sankō Kokushi
The a Muromachi period hanging scroll in colored ink on paper, depicting , a Zen prelate from
Aizu who travelled to
Yuan period China to study Zen at the
Tianmu Mountain
Tianmu Mountain, Mount Tianmu, or Tianmushan () is a mountain in Lin'an County west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, in eastern China. It is made up of two peaks: West Tianmu () and East Tianmu (). Twin ponds near the top of the peaks led to the name of ...
. He became the chief priest of Kōgaku-ji after his return to Japan. The portrait depicts the priest seated in a chair and measures 136.4 cm by 60.6 cm. It was designated an
Important Cultural Property of Japan on May 25, 1916
Portrait painting of Sankō Kokushi
The a Muromachi period hanging scroll in colored ink on paper, depicting Bassui Tokushō. The portrait depicts the priest seated in a chair and measures 128.8 cm by 62.2 cm. The portrait was painted in 1393 on the seventh memorial of the priest's death. It was designated an
Important Cultural Property of Japan on May 25, 1916
Kōgaku-ji wooden printing blocks
Kōgaku-ji has many printing blocks, some of which date from the Muromachi period and Edo period. Of these, a set of 37 blocks (塩山和泥合水集板木) dated 1386 and one block dated 1389 (抜隊得勝遺誡板) were designated Important Cultural Properties on June 10, 2007
The former is a question-and-answer form showing responses to questions which are asked by priests. The latter is a set of regulations for prices issued by Bassui Tokushō.
National Place of Scenic Beauty
Kōgaku-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 ...
on the slope of the mountain on the north side of the precinct is a stone garden believed to date from the early Edo period, and renovated several times in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was excavated in 1990 by archaeologists, and was found to contain an arrangement of rock formations and ponds and waterfalls. It was designated as a National
Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan on June 6, 1994.
See also
*
List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings)
*
List of Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan (Yamanashi)
References
*
External links
Koshu city official site
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kogaku-ji
Buddhist temples in Yamanashi Prefecture
Kōshū, Yamanashi
Rinzai temples
Kai Province
Places of Scenic Beauty
National Treasures of Japan
Kōgaku-ji temples
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
Yamanashi Prefecture designated tangible cultural property