Kōshōhōrin-ji
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''Kōshōhōrin-ji'' (), more commonly known by its abbreviated name ''Kōshō-ji'' () and sometimes by its full formal name ''Kannondori Kōshōhōrin-ji'' (), was the first independent
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 in
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 ...
. While
Kennin-ji is a historic Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of its associated branch of Rinzai Buddhism. It is considered to be one of the so-called Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five most important Zen temples of Kyoto". History Kennin-ji was ...
was established in 1202 and is usually considered the first zen temple in Japan, it was under the control of the powerful Tendai School based on
Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by ...
, resulting in the imposition of certain norms that were not present at Kōshō-ji. The short-lived temple was officially established in 1236 by
Dōgen Zenji was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (), Eihei Dōgen (), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (), and Busshō Dentō Kokushi (). Originally ordained ...
, the founder of the
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 ...
school of zen in Japan. It was abandoned only seven years later in 1243 when Dōgen and his students left under poorly documented but possibly hostile circumstances to found
Eihei-ji file:Plan Eihei-ji.svg, 250px is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). The other is Sōji-ji in Yokohama. Eihei-ji is loc ...
in modern-day
Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...
. A temple that exists today also uses the abbreviated name of Dōgen's temple, '' Kōshō-ji''; it was established in 1649 in nearby
Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa ...
as an homage to Dōgen's original temple, but there is no direct continuity between the two. The temple was founded on the site of an older temple called ''Gokuraku-ji'' (), a common name for Buddhist temples associated with
pure land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
devotion. In 1231 Dōgen first took up residence in a part of the temple complex called the ''Kannondori-in'' (), or the "Avalokiteśvara chapel", which would later become part of the temple's formal name. Initially functioning as a hermitage, Dōgen gradually attracted students until in the summer of 1232 enough were present to hold their first
ango An , or , is a Japanese language, Japanese term for a three-month period of intense training for students of Zen Buddhism, lasting anywhere from 90 to 100 days. The practice during ango consists of meditation (zazen), study, and work (Samu (Ze ...
, an intensive three month practice period. Dōgen's primary disciple
Koun Ejō (1198–1280) was the second Lineage (Buddhism), patriarch of the Japanese Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism who lived during the Kamakura period. He was initially a disciple of the short-lived Darumashu, Darumashū sect of Japanese Zen founded by Non ...
arrived at the site in 1234 to become a student, and shortly thereafter began to record Dōgen's informal lectures that would later be compiled into the '' Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki''. With the construction of Japan's first Chinese-style ''sōdō'' (), or monks' hall, in 1236, the temple officially changed its name to ''Kannondori Kōshōhōrin-ji''. Due to the attention the monks' hall attracted many wealthy patrons began to support the temple, leading quickly to the construction of a ''hattō'' (), or lecture hall. In 1241, Ekan of the Nihon Daruma-shu and his disciples became Dōgen's students at Kōshō-ji. Ekan's disciples included
Tettsū Gikai is the third spiritual leader of the Sōtō Zen school of Buddhism in Japan. He began his Buddhist life as a student of the Darumashū's Ekan, but later both became students of Eihei Dōgen's newly established Sōtō school. Gikai received dharm ...
, Gien, Giun, and Giin, all of whom would come to be important people in the early history of Sōtō Zen in Japan. Senne, who would later write commentaries on Dōgen's works, became Dōgen's student as Kōshō-ji and served as his attendant there. In 1243, one day after the end of Kōshō-ji's summer ango, Dōgen and his students abandoned the temple to move to
Echizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga Province, Kaga, Wakasa Province, Wakasa, Hida Province, Hida, and Ōmi Provin ...
. There is some evidence to suggest that Dōgen was forced to leave by the Tendai establishment due to perceived competition, but a lack of clear sources makes the precise reason for their departure impossible to pin down.


References

{{Authority control Religious organizations established in the 1230s Soto temples Buddhist temples in Kyoto Prefecture 1230s establishments in Japan 1236 establishments in Asia