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 ...

in Nakagyō-ku,

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. In the Middle Ages, the temple revived a performance created by the

Yuzu Nembutsu is a school of Pure Land Buddhism that focuses on the recitation of the ''Nembutsu'', the name of the Amitabha Buddha. Followers believe this recitation benefits not just the chanter, but the entire world as well. History The sect began in t ...

monk Engaku known as the '' Dai Nembutsu Kyōgen''. It is also known for having been affiliated with the

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

. The temple has taken on several other names such "Jizō-in (地蔵院)", "Hōdōsanmai-in (宝幢三昧寺)", and "Shinjōkō-in (心浄光院)." The current abbot is Shunkai Matsuura.

History

The temple was founded in 991 by the monk Kaiken of Onjō-ji as a gift to his mother. In 1005 a memorial service was held in which the temple was given the name "Komii-dera (小三井寺, lit. "little

Mii-dera , also known as just Onjo-ji, or , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of t ...

")" in reference to the founder's original temple. It is said that the title "Jizō-in" was bestowed on the temple during

Emperor Shirakawa was the 72nd emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 白河天皇 (72)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shirakawa's reign lasted from 1073 to 1087. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum T ...

's imperial visit. The priest Engaku of the

school restored the temple in the medieval period. Tradition holds that he was responsible for establishing the practice of the '' Mibu Dai Nembutsu Kyōgen'', now an

Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property A is administered by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and includes tangible properties (structures and works of art or craft); intangible properties (perform ...

. Towards the end of 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 Tokugawa

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

established the

Mibu Rōshigumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was act ...

at the nearby stronghold, the Yagi House (八木家 ''Yagike''). The Mibu Rōshigumi were an elite public security corp that would later be known as the

. Mibu-dera's grounds served as the base for the organization's military and martial arts training. A bronze statue of commander

Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and samurai of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyagawa ...

stands within the temple precincts, as well as a grave-site for Shinsengumi regimental soldiers. The resting place of Kondō Isami is believed to be elsewhere.

Aizuwakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . History The area of present-day Aizuwakamatsu ...

and

Mitaka, Tokyo file:井之頭恩賜公園 (16016034730).jpg, 260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka is a Cities of Japan, city in the Western Tokyo region of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,00 ...

have been suggested as possible locations. Mibu-dera's main image was originally a half-lotus seated

Kṣitigarbha Kṣitigarbha (, , Wylie: ''sa yi snying po'') is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. His name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb". ...

statue, fashioned in the latter part of the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, affectionately dubbed "Mibu Jizō" among the local faithful. The image was destroyed by arson along with the main hall on July 25, 1962. After the fire, a standing Kṣitigarbha statue was relocated from the head temple

Tōshōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the '' kondō'', has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archetyp ...

and became the temple's new main image. The main hall was rebuilt in 1967.

Temple grounds

*"Ah Shinsengumi" (あゝ新撰組) Literary Monument, established by volunteers in the 11th year of the

Heisei period The was the Japanese era name, period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his 2019 Japanese imperial transition, abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the ...

. Includes a button that plays the song three times when pressed *

Amida Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Ro ...

-dō (阿弥陀堂), west of the Ichiya Tenjin-dō. Includes admission fee *

Benten is an East Asian Buddhist goddess who originated from the Hindu Saraswati, the patroness of speech, the arts, and learning. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth through eighth centuries, mainly via Classical Chinese transl ...

-dō (弁天堂), west of the Amida-dō * Dai Nembutsu-dō (大念仏堂), the kyōgen stage and an Important Cultural Property * Ichiya Tenjin-dō (一夜天神堂), on the northern side of the inner east gate *Bronze statue of

*Mibu burial mound (壬生塚 ''Mibu-tsuka'') *

Rokkaku-dō The , official name , is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, said to have been established by Prince Shōtoku. The name comes from its main hall's hexagonal shape. This temple is part of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. History Rokkaku-d� ...

(六角堂), west of the Benten-dō *Sentai Buttō (千体仏塔), a stupa that enshrines one-thousand stone Buddhas. South of the main hall *Sekizō

Hōkyōintō A is a type of tō, Japanese pagoda, so called because it originally contained the sūtraIwanami Kōjien Japanese dictionary (or ).Iwanami Kōjien Japanese dictionary A Chinese variant of the Indian stupa, it was originally conceived as a ceno ...

(石像宝篋印塔), to the left of the Ichiya Tenjin-dō

References

{{Authority control 991 10th-century Buddhist temples 991 establishments Buddhist temples in Kyoto Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties Tenjin (kami) Temples of Kṣitigarbha