is the head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon Sect of

Buddhism 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 ...

. Located in western

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 ...

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 was first founded in AD 888 by Emperor Uda, and was later reconstructed in the 17th century. It is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

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History

Ninna-ji was founded in the early

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 ...

. In 886, Emperor Kōkō ordered the construction of the Nishiyama Goganji Temple to bless the nation and propagate Buddhist teachings, but he did not live to see its completion. Emperor Uda saw the construction to its completion in 888 and named it "Ninna" after the regnal year of the late Emperor Kōkō's reign. From 888 to 1869 it was traditional for reigning Emperors to send a son to the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

to take over as head priest when a vacancy arose. After retiring from his throne, Emperor Uda became the first Monzeki, or aristocratic priest, of Ninna-ji. From then on until 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 temple saw a succession of head priests of imperial lineage. In 1467, the temple was destroyed by fire and fighting in the Ōnin War. It was rebuilt roughly 150 year later, thanks to the eldest son of Emperor Go-Yōzei, Kakushin Hosshinnō, who enlisted the help of

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

, the third shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate. The resurrection coincided with the rebuilding of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and thus received imperial funding. The tradition of having aristocratic or persons of imperial lineage serve as chief of the temple ended with the 30th Monzeki, Junnin Hosshinnō in the late Edo period. Most of the surviving buildings date from the 17th century, and include a five-story pagoda and an orchard of late blooming dwarf cherry trees called the Omuro cherry trees that would grow to around 2–3 meters (10 feet) in height. The temple itself features some beautifully painted screen walls, and a beautiful walled garden.

Buildings

*National Treasure of Japan **Golden Hall *Important Cultural Property of Japan **Pagoda **Kyōzō **Niōmon **Chūmon **Shōrō **Kannon-dō **Miei-dō **Chūmon of Miei-dō **Kyūsho-myōjin **Omotemon of Honbō **Ryōkaku-tei **Hitō-tei *Other **Chokushimon **Shinden **Reimeiden **Kuro Shoin **Shiro Shoin

Gallery

File:Ninnaji Kyoto02s3s4350.jpg, Pagoda File:Ninnaji Kyoto09n4500.jpg, Kyōzō File:Mie-do (Founders Hall) At Ninna-ji.JPG, Miei-dō File:Ninnaji Kyoto25n4592.jpg, Kyūsho-myōjin File:Ninnaji Kyoto15s4470.jpg, Interior of Shinden File:Peacock Myōō.jpg, Mahamayuri

External links

Ninna-ji official website

Photos of Ninna-ji

References

External links

{{Authority control Buddhist temples in Kyoto Gardens in Kyoto Prefecture World Heritage Sites in Japan National Treasures of Japan Historic Sites of Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan 9th-century establishments in Japan 9th-century Buddhist temples Monzeki 888 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 880s Temples of Amitābha

History

Buildings

Gallery

See also

External links

References

External links