is a

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple complex in Ukyō-ku, a western

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

in the city of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

, Japan. The temple's official name is . Nisonin
/ref> The temple is a popular destination during the Japanese maple viewing season (the ''momiji'' season).AsiaRooms.com:

Two revered images

The temple derives its name from the fact that there are two main images here—one statue of the founding Buddha and another statue of one who has reached enlightenment; or in short, ''Nison'' refers to these "two revered images." Both of these

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 Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

Buddhist statues are designated as

Important Cultural Properties of Japan An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs ( Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and judged to be o ...

. The name Nison-in derives from the temple's two principal image,

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

Nyorai (called the "Gautama Buddha of Hakken" who is said to send out the world's new-borns), and Amitabha Tathagata (called the "Amitabha of Raigei" who allegedly greets those who've died).

History

Nison-in was founded in the early

Emperor Saga was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign spanned the years from 809 through 823. Traditional narrative Saga was the ...

initiated the establishment of the temple in 834; and today it is part of the

Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of ...

temple group. None of the original structures survived destruction during the

Onin War Onin may refer to: * Ōnin, a Japanese era ** Ōnin War * Onin peninsula, on the Bomberai Peninsula Bomberai Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Bomberai), otherwise known as the Bird's Beak Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Paruh Burung), is located in the We ...

(1467–1477). Nisonin10s3200

Nison-in is renowned for its ancient cemetery, which includes the graves of emperors and members of the aristocracy. The father of Sanjōnishi Sanetaka is buried in Nison-in cemetery Nison-in became obliquely involved in the complex fabric of events which unfolded after

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the ...

Black Fleet The Black Ships (in ja, 黒船, translit=kurofune, Edo period term) was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries. In 1543 Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a trade route linking G ...

sailed into Edo harbour in 1853. For the first time in more than two centuries, the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

actively sought advice from the emperor.

Emperor Komei An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (emp ...

was asked for his counsel in deciding how to deal with newly assertive foreign powers. Amongst others,

Naidaijin The , literally meaning "Inner Minister", was an ancient office in the Japanese Imperial Court. Its role, rank and authority varied throughout the pre- Meiji period of Japanese history, but in general remained as a significant post under the Ta ...

Sanjo Saki sought to uphold and defend the Imperial honor by trying to work with

Tokugawa Nariaki Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川斉昭, April 4, 1800 – September 29, 1860) was a prominent Japanese ''daimyō'' who ruled the Mito Domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture) and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration. Biography C ...

in arguing against the conciliatory approach favored by

Hayashi Akira (also known as ''Hayashi Fukusai'') was an Edo period scholar-diplomat serving the Tokugawa shogunate in a variety of roles similar to those performed by serial Hayashi clan neo-Confucianists since the time of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the here ...

and the bafuku negotiators. As an unanticipated consequence, Sanjo was ordered to retire to the life of a monk at Nison-in. Sanjo died while still in confinement at the temple. After learning of his death, Komei sent Imperial envoys to Nison-in to elevate the late-courtier to the posthumous rank of

Udaijin was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''udaijin'' in the context of a central adminis ...

Karuta

This location of the temple on

Mount Ogura is a mountain located between Kitaaiki and Minamiaiki Villages, Minamisaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. With its summit being 2,112 meters above sea level, it is the tallest mountain in Minamiaiki, Nagano. It is known for the Japane ...

Although conventionally identified as "Mount Ogura," it is really little more than a hill. is said to have been the site of a villa belonging to

Fujiwara no Teika , better-known as Fujiwara no Teika"Sadaie" and "Teika" are both possible readings of ; "...there is the further problem, the rendition of the name in romanized form. Teika probably referred to himself as Sadaie, and his father probably called ...

, the poet who compiled the anthology . Every year in May, the temple plays host to a re-enactment of a Heian-era literary card game played by women in period costume.

Notes

References

* Cullen, L.M. (2003)
''A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds.''
Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

. (cloth). (paper) * Goto, Michiko
"The Lives and Roles of Women of Various Classes in the Ie of Late-Medieval Japan,"
''International Journal of Asian Studies'' (2006), 3:2, pp. 183–210. * Poppelreuter, Tanja and Gary Quigg
"Arashiyama on wheels,"
''Kansai Scene Magazine.'' November 2006. * Satow, Ernest Mason. (1905)
''Japan 1853-1864''
. Tokyo: Naigai suppan kyokai

External links