is a

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 ...

located in the Higashimachi neighborhood of the city of Masuda,

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. The temple belongs to the Ji sect and its full name is .

History

Founded in the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

as the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

sect temple of Anpuku-ji (安福寺), the temple was originally located in Nakasuura, Iwami. In 1313, the temple was destroyed by a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

and in 1319, Donkai, the 4th generation successor to the founder of the Ji sect,

Ippen 1234–1289 also known as Zuien was a Japanese Buddhist itinerant preacher (''hijiri'') who founded the branch of Pure Land Buddhism. Life Ippen was born at Hōgon-ji, a temple in Iyo Province (modern Ehime Prefecture) on the island of Shikok ...

, revived the temple as a ''

dōjō A is a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning, or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts. The term literally means "place of the Way" in Japanese. History The word ''dōjō'' originates fro ...

'' of the sect. In 1374, Masuda Kanemi, the 11th chieftain of the Masuda clan and castellan of

Nanao Castle was a Muromachi period ''yamajiro''-style Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Nanao, Ishikawa, Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a Historic Sites of Japan, National Histori ...

, moved the temple to its current location and renamed it "Manpuku-ji", making it a ''

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 his clan. The current Main Hall of the temple dates from this 1374 reconstruction, and was designated an National Important Cultural Property in 1904. During the ''

Bunmei was a after '' Ōnin'' and before ''Chōkyō''. This period spanned from April 1469 through July 1487.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Bunmei''" i ''Japan encyclopedia'', p. 89 n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussb ...

'' era (1469-1487), the noted

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 ...

prelate

Sesshū Tōyō , also known simply as , was a Japanese Zen monk and painter who is considered a great master of Japanese ink painting. Initially inspired by Chinese landscapes, Sesshū's work holds a distinctively Japanese style that reflects Zen Buddhist ae ...

came to Masuda to study Zen and to create gardens with spiritual significance. The garden at Manpuku-ji is one survivor of several gardens he created in the area during that time . In 1866, during the

Second Chōshū expedition The Second Chōshū expedition (), also called the Summer War, was a punitive expedition led by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Chōshū Domain. It followed the First Chōshū expedition of 1864. Campaign The Second Chōshū expedition was a ...

, the Battle of Sekishuguchi was fought in Masuda. Manpuku-ji became a stronghold of the pro-shogunate forces of Hamada Domain. The main gate was destroyed, and a number of bullet holes remain in the pillars of its Main Hall. The gardens of the temple were designated a National Historic Site and a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 1928. Manpuku-ji is located approximately three kilometers east of

Masuda Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Masuda Station is served by the JR West San'in Main Line, and is located 514.5 kilomete ...

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

San'in Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

References

External links

Shimane Prefecture Masuda City Tourism Official WebsiteShimane Tourism Federation Website
{in lang, ja Buddhist temples in Shimane Prefecture Ji temples Iwami Province Masuda, Shimane Historic Sites of Japan Places of Scenic Beauty Gardens in Shimane Prefecture Shimane Prefecture designated tangible cultural property

History

See also

References

External links