Antai-ji
Encyclopedia
is a Buddhist temple that belongs to the Sōtō
school of Zen
Buddhism
. It is located in the town of Shin'onsen, Mikata District
, in northern Hyōgo Prefecture
, Japan
, where it sits on about 50 hectares of land in the mountains, close to a national park on the Sea of Japan
. It accepts visitors in the summer months, but is inaccessible during the winter.
for scholars to study the Shōbōgenzō
. At that time, it was located in northern Kyoto
and many leading scholars studied there. Vacated during World War II
, Sawaki Kodo (1880-1965) and Kosho Uchiyama
(1912-1998) moved into Antai-ji in 1949, and made it a place for Zazen
. During the late sixties, the name of this small temple became known both in Japan and abroad for its practice of Zazen and formal begging.
(b. 1968), continues as the present abbot.
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
school of Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. It is located in the town of Shin'onsen, Mikata District
Mikata District, Hyogo
Mikata is a district located in Hyōgo, Japan.As of the April 1, 2005 merger , the district has an estimated population of 40,084 and a density of 66 persons per km²...
, in northern Hyōgo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where it sits on about 50 hectares of land in the mountains, close to a national park on the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
. It accepts visitors in the summer months, but is inaccessible during the winter.
Kyoto
Antai-ji was founded in 1923 by Oka Sotan as a monasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
for scholars to study the Shōbōgenzō
Shobogenzo
The term Shōbōgenzō has three main usages in Buddhism: It can refer to the essence of the Buddha's realization and teaching, that is, to the Buddha Dharma itself, as viewed from the perspective of Mahayana Buddhism, it is the title of a koan collection with commentaries by Dahui Zonggao, and it...
. At that time, it was located in northern Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and many leading scholars studied there. Vacated during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Sawaki Kodo (1880-1965) and Kosho Uchiyama
Kosho Uchiyama
was a Sōtō priest, origami master, and the former abbot of Antaiji near Kyoto, Japan.The author of more than twenty books on Zen Buddhism and origami—of which Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice is best-known—Uchiyama graduated from Waseda University with a masters...
(1912-1998) moved into Antai-ji in 1949, and made it a place for Zazen
Zazen
In Zen Buddhism, zazen is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment .- Significance :Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice...
. During the late sixties, the name of this small temple became known both in Japan and abroad for its practice of Zazen and formal begging.
Northern Hyōgo
The increase of visitors and the many new houses being built around the temple created much noise, which made it difficult for the practice of Zazen to continue at the Kyoto location. Therefore the following abbot, Watanabe Koho (b. 1942), decided to move Antai-ji to its present location in northern Hyōgo. Together with the quietude of the mountains, he was looking for a new life style that would bring Zen back to self-sufficiency. The former abbot Miyaura Shinyu (1948–2002) protected this quiet life of Zazen while putting the ideal of a self-sufficient monastery into practice, until his sudden death in the snow in February 2002. His disciple, the German monk Muho NoelkeMuho Noelke
is a German Zen master. Presently, he is the abbot of Antai-ji, a Japanese Soto Zen temple. He has translated works of Dōgen and Kōdō Sawaki, and has authored two books of his own....
(b. 1968), continues as the present abbot.