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280px, Miniature Model of Saiji, Heiankyo. (Kyoto City Heiankyo Sosei-Kan Museum) or the ''West Temple'' was 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 Karahashi neighborhood of the Minami ward of the city 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 ...
. The temple no longer exists, and its ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1921, with the area under protection expanded in 1966.


Overview

When the
capital of Japan The capital of Japan is Tokyo."About Japan"
The Government of Japan. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
was relocated from
Heijō-kyō was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient ...
(modern
Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
to
Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, mo ...
(modern Kyoto),
Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...
ordered the construction of two national temples to be constructed symmetrically on either side of the Suzaku Avenue (Suzaku-ōji, present-day Senbon-dōri), just north of the great Rashōmon gate near the southern edge of the city. These two temples (Sai-ji in the west and
Tō-ji , also known as is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the Minami-ku, Kyoto, Minami-ku ward of Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 796, Tō-ji Temple was one of the only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city at the time it became the capital of Japan. As s ...
in the east) together with Shingon-in in the
Heian Palace The was the original imperial palace of (present-day Kyoto), then the capital of Japan. Both the palace and the city were constructed in the late 700s and were patterned on Ancient Chinese urban planning, Chinese models and designs. The palace ...
) were the only Buddhist institutions allowed in the capital at the time it was established. This policy was introduced by Emperor Kanmu in order to curb the political influence the large Buddhist institutions had acquired in Heijō-kyō during the 8th century.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869,'' p. 111. Each occupied a square site of approximately 300  by 300 meters. Both temples were charged with prayers for the protection of the nation and the Imperial family of Japan. Sai-ji may also have been used as a facility for receiving foreign envoys as a part of the '' Ritsuryo'' system, the Kōrokan. It is unclear when the construction of the Sai-ji and Tō-ji temples began, but the first known documentary record is an entry dated April 4, 16th year of
Enryaku was a after '' Ten'ō'' and before '' Daidō''. This period spanned the years from August 782 through May 806. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 12 November 782 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The p ...
(May 4, 797) in the '' Ruijū Kokushi,'' where a court noble named Kasa-no-Ehito is listed as the deputy builder of Sai-ji. Since there are no records of appointments to this post after 815, it is believed that the temples were completed by that time. In 823, during the reign of
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 lasted from 809 to 823. Traditional narrative Saga was the second son of ...
, Tō-ji was bestowed to
Kūkai , born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the Vajrayana, esoteric Shingon Buddhism, Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) und ...
and Sai-ji to Shubin, a monk of the Sanron and Hosso sects, who was Kūkai's arch-rival. According to legend, during a drought in 824, he competed with Kūkai in his spiritual powers at a rain-making ceremony at
Shinsenen is a garden with Buddhist temple located in the approximate center of the modern city of Kyoto, Japan. The temple belongs to the Tō-ji-branch of Shingon-shū and its '' honzon'' is a statue of Sho-Kannon. The pond and garden are the last survi ...
Garden, and was so angry at being defeated that he shot an arrow at Kūkai. The lecture hall of Sai-ji was completed in 832. The Sōkan, or government office in charge of regulating the Buddhist priesthood was moved from Yakushi-ji to Sai-ji by 864. In 990, there was a fire, but the temple was quickly rebuilt. During the Kenkyū era (1190s), Mongaku restored the Sai-ji pagoda, with
Myōe (February 21, 1173 – February 11, 1232) was a Japanese bhikkhu, Buddhist monk active during the Kamakura period who also went by the name Kōben (, Chinese: 高辨, Gāo Biàn). He was a contemporary of Jōkei (monk), Jōkei and Hōnen. Bio ...
supervising the construction work. However, the temple was falling into disrepair, and the rebuilt pagoda was burned down again in 1233. The temple appears to have been abandoned around that time. The reasons for Sai-ji's decline include the poor drainage of its location in western Kyoto, which led to the abandonment of the eastern half of Heian-kyō by the late Heian period, as well as the lack of support from the Imperial Court. On the other hand, Tō-ji has survived (albeit rebuilt) into modern times.


Current situation

Archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
s were conducted at the site of Sai-ji in 1959, confirming the remains of the main hall, corridors, monks' quarters, dining hall, and south gate. The existing earthen platform, which was the basis of the National Historic Site designation in 1921 was found to be the remains of the foundations of the lecture hall. This is now part of Karahashi Saiji Park, and has a stone monument and explanatory placards declaring this location to be the site of Sai-ji. The park is about an eight-minute walk from Nishioji Station on the
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, ...
Tokaido Main Line. A portion of the foundation stones for the main hall unearthed during the excavations remains, and it is now in the grounds of Kyoto Municipal Karahashi Elementary School. The remains of pagoda tower are near the site of Karahashi Elementary School, but it has not been confirmed whether the foundation stones are buried underground or were destroyed by the time the elementary school was built. The designated historic site includes the Karahashi Elementary School site, Karahashi Saiji Park site, private land north of the park and south of Toji-dori, and the roads to the west of these. A modern
Jōdo-shū Jōdo-shū (浄土宗, "The Pure Land School"), is a Japanese branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Kamakura era monk Hōnen (1133–1212). The school is traditionally considered as having been established in 1175 and i ...
temple called "Sai-ji" located near Karahashi Saiji Park claims to be the successor to the historical Sai-ji.


See also

* List of Historic Sites of Japan (Kyoto)


References


External links


Kyoto tourist informationKyoto city home page
{in lang, ja Historic Sites of Japan Yamashiro Province Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan Heian period Buddhist temples in Kyoto Buddhism in the Heian period