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 in the Shimogyō ward of

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 serves as the head temple of the sub-sect Honganji-ha. It is one of two temple complexes in Kyoto, the other being

Higashi Hongan-ji , or, "the Eastern Monastery of the Original Vow", is one of two dominant sub-sects of Shin Buddhism in Japan and abroad, the other being Nishi Honganji (or, 'The Western Temple of the Original Vow'). It is also the name of the head temple of t ...

, which is the head temple of the sub-sect

Ōtani-ha Ōtani-ha (真宗大谷派, ''Shinshū Ōtani-ha'') is a Japanese Buddhist movement. It belongs to , also known as Shin Buddhism (or True Pure Land). The movement has approximately 5.5 million members. The headquarters of Ōtani-ha are in Kyoto,< ...

. Established in its current location in 1591, the origin of the temple goes back to the 14th century. Many of its building have survived from the Azuchi-Momoyama and early

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 ...

, making it a great example of the Japanese architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries. A total of seven Nishi Hongan-ji structures have been designated

National Treasures A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

in three different categories: the

karamon The is a type of gate seen in Japanese architecture. It is characterized by the usage of '' kara-hafu'', an undulating bargeboard peculiar to Japan. ''Kara-mon'' are often used at the entrances of Japanese castles, Buddhist temples and Shint ...

, Goei-dō and

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 ...

hall ( temple buildings), the Flying Cloud Pavilion,

shoin is a type of audience hall in Japanese architecture that was developed during the Muromachi period. The term originally meant a study and a place for lectures on the sūtra within a temple, but later it came to mean just a drawing room or stu ...

and the Black study hall, including the Denrō gallery (

residences A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence or The Residence may also refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the s ...

) and the north

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. It is Japan's oldest major theater art that is still regularly performed today. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature featuri ...

stage ( miscellaneous structure). Nishi Hongan-ji was designated 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 ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1994, as part of the

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) encompasses 17 locations in Japan within the city of Kyoto and its immediate vicinity. In 794, the Japanese imperial family moved the capital to Heian- ...

History

The original

Hongan-ji , also archaically romanized as Hongwanji, is the collective name of the largest school of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism (which further sub-divides into the Nishi and Higashi branches). 'Hongan-ji' may also refer to any one of several actual temple bu ...

was established as a temple in 1321, on the site of the Ōtani Mausoleum, where

Shinran ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'' by Esben Andreasen, pp. 13, 14, 15, 17. University of Hawaiʻi Press 1998, . was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent clos ...

, the founder of the ("True Pure Land") was buried. The mausoleum was attended by Shinran's grandson (through daughter Kakushinni), Kakue. Kakue's own son,

Kakunyo Kakunyo (覚如) (1270-1351) is the great-grandson of Shinran, founder of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, and the third caretaker, or Monshu of the family mausoleum, which gradually became the Hongan-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. He was responsible for bein ...

, became the first chief priest of the Hongan-ji and third

monshu The Monshu (門主 or 門首), or ''keeper of the gate'' is a term used to Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism that refers to the spiritual leader of either the Nishi Hongan-ji branch, or the Higashi Hongan-ji branch, both direct descendants of its founder Sh ...

(spiritual leader), and dedicated it to the worship of

Amitābha Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddh ...

(''Amida''). The Hongan-ji first gained power and importance in the 15th century, when

Rennyo Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (Patriarch) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to him as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He ...

became its eighth monshu. However, 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 ...

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 ...

saw this expansion as a threat and attacked the Hongan-ji three times with their army of

sōhei were Buddhist warrior monks of both classical and feudal Japan. At certain points in history, they held considerable power, obliging the imperial and military governments to collaborate. The prominence of the ''sōhei'' rose in parallel w ...

fled to

Yoshizaki-gobō The was a Buddhist temple located in what is the Yoshizaki neighbourhood of the city of Awara, Fukui, Japan. It is known for its connection to Rennyo, the founder of the Ikkō sect of Japanese Buddhism. The ruins of the temple were designated a ...

, where he established a new temple compound. During the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, fearing the power of the monks of the Hongan-ji,

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

tried to destroy it. For ten years, he laid siege to the

Ishiyama Hongan-ji The was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior priests and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, one of the two primary temple fortresses of the sect. In 1580, the abbot of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji, Kennyo, surrendered, while his son Kyōnyo refused to surrender, for which he was publicly disowned. After the death of Nobunaga in 1582 and the ascent of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

, Kennyo was rewarded for his opposition to Nobunaga by being granted land in Kyoto, at the site of modern-day Nishi Hongan-ji (西本願寺, "Western Hongan-ji"; sometimes called the ''Honpa Hongan-ji'' 本派本願寺). He was succeeded by his legitimate son, Junnyo, as abbot in 1592. While his brother Kyōnyo re-established the Osaka Hongan-ji in 1596 with local support, owing to his refusal to surrender to Nobunaga earlier. After the death of Hideyoshi in 1598, Kyōnyo openly supported

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

, who became ''

shōgun , 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 ...

'' in 1602. In reward for his loyalty, Kyōnyo was rewarded with land for a temple in Kyoto to the east of Nishi Honganji, which then became known in 1603 as

Higashi Honganji , or, "the Eastern Monastery of the Original Vow", is one of two dominant sub-sects of Shin Buddhism in Japan and abroad, the other being Nishi Honganji (or, 'The Western Temple of the Original Vow'). It is also the name of the head temple of th ...

(東本願寺 "Eastern Hongan-ji"). In 1619 the government recognized the two entities as separate congregations. It is popularly believed, however mistakenly, that the institution was split in two in order to maintain control of the order. In 1994 Nishi Hongan-ji was listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

as one of the

Architecture

Nishi Hongan-ji occupies almost an entire rectangular area bounded by Hanayachō-dōri (Hanayachō Street) to the north, Horikawa-dōri (Horikawa Street) to the east, Shichijō-dōri (Shichijō Street) to the south, and Ōmiya-dōri (Omiya Street) to the west. The main entrance to Nishi Hongan-ji is to the east on Horikawa-dōri. As the name of the temple implies, it is located to the west of Higashi Hongan-ji. Nishi Hongan-ji is older than the latter and has a more integral

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

.Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen, pp. 11, 38-39, 105 / University of Hawaii Press 1998,

Karamon

The gate of Nishi Hongan-ji was originally built for

Fushimi castle , also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residen ...

, probably around 1598. After the castle was dismantled in 1623, it was moved to Nishi Hongan-ji in 1632 for a planned visit 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 ...

to the temple.Kirby, John B. (1962). ''From Castle to Teahouse: Japanese Architecture of the Momoyama Period.'' pp. 78. It was last renovated in 2018–2021. It is designated a

National Treasure A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

, one of six such a structures to hold this distinction. It is constructed as a four-legged gate with ''

karahafu is a type of curved gable found in Japanese architecture. It is used on Japanese castles, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines. Roofing materials such as tile and bark may be used as coverings. The face beneath the gable may be flush with the w ...

'' gables of undulating curves on the front and back. It has a roof in the ''

irimoya The East Asian hip-and-gable roof (''Xiēshān'' (歇山) in Chinese, ''Paljakjibung'' (팔작지붕) in Korean and ''Irimoya'' (入母屋) in Japanese) also known as 'resting hill roof', consists of a hip roof that slopes down on all four side ...

'' style, a style of

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

sloping down on all four sides and integrated on two opposing sides with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

. The roof is covered by bark

shingles Shingles, also known as herpes zoster or zona, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. T ...

made from hinoki cypress. It is also known as the ''Higurashi no Mon'' ("all day gate"), due to the high number and quality of the carving that decorate the gate, including images of flowers, animals and fantastic figures. One of the panels shows the legendary chinese hermit Xu You beside a waterfall, "washing from his ear an offensive proposal from the

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary China, Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan ...

". Another one shows a farmer cleaning his ox, "expressing anger at the pollution of the stream". The last two times the gate was opened and visitors were allowed to walk through it were in 1983, during a rite related to the founder of Buddhism

, and in 2017, prior to the renovation of the gate in 2018. It is also used for occasional visits of the

Imperial Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

Goeidō

The or "Founder's Hall" was rebuilt in 1636, following the destruction of the previous main halls by an earthquake in 1596 and a fire in 1617. It was designated a

in 2014. The building, single-storied, with a ''hongawarabuki'' roof, a tile roof composed of flat broad concave tiles and semi-cylindrical convex tiles covering the seams of the former, in the

style. It measures 62 by 48 metres, with a height on 29 metres. A wooden image of

is enshrined in the central altar, with portraits of the successive head priests (''monshu'') on display alongside. Major ceremonies conducted at Nishi Hongan-ji are usually conducted at this building. Nishi Hongwanji Amidado

Amidadō

The or "Amida Hall" was rebuilt in 1760 as the temple's main worship hall. It was designated a

in 2014. It is a single-storied building with a ''hongawarabuki'' roof in the

style, measuring 45 by 42 metres, with a height on 25 metres. It houses a sculpture of

Amida Buddha 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 Roma ...

surrounded by the portraits of six of the seven Pure Land Masters in the central altar, and images of

's master Honen and

Prince Shotoku A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fem ...

. Due to renovations, the interior of the ''Amidado'' was not accessible to the public until February 2019, when the front half of the hall was opened. The back half was closed until the end of March 2022, when the restoration work concluded.

Footnotes

:A.The defunct ''

hanamachi A is a district where geisha live and work in Japan. Each typically has its own name, crest, and distinct geisha population, with geisha not typically working outside of their own district. usually contain (geisha houses) and (teahouses wh ...

'' courtesan's district of Shimabara is located directly to the west of the north side of Nishi Hongan-ji along Hanayachō-dōri.

References

Bibliography

* Kirby, John B. (1962)
''From Castle to Teahouse: Japanese Architecture of the Momoyama Period.''
Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.
OCLC 512972
* Rogers, Minor L and Ann T. (1990)
The Honganji: Guardian of the state (1868–1945)
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 17 (1), 3-28 * Alicia, Matsunaga (1993). ''Foundation of Japanese Buddhism. Vol. II, The mass movement (Kamakura & Muromachi periods).'' Buddhist Books International
OCLC 137242947

External links

English website for Nishi Honganji
{{Authority control 1270s establishments in Japan 1272 establishments in Asia National Treasures of Japan Buddhist temples in Kyoto Pure Land temples * Important Cultural Properties of Japan World Heritage Sites in Japan Historic Sites of Japan 13th-century Buddhist temples Monzeki