is a Buddhist temple

Buddhist temples in Japan

Along with Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples are the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan.The term "Shinto shrine" is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist religious structures. In...

 located in Gifu

Gifu, Gifu

is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...

, Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

, 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...

. The temple has strong ties to both Saitō Dōsan

Saito Dosan

was a daimyo who dramatically rose and also fell from power in Sengoku period Japan. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics.-Life:Originally a wealthy merchant from Yamashiro Province , he entered the service of Nagai Nagahiro of Mino Province , assuming the name Nishimura Kankurô.He...

 and Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

. Gifu's Sōfuku-ji is famed throughout Japan for both the number of monks it produces and for its "Blood Ceiling". Shortly after its founding, it was also known as Kōsai-ji (弘済寺), but that name is no longer used. It is also one of the Mino Thirty-three Kannon

Mino Thirty-three Kannon

The are a collection of Buddhist temples in southern Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The name is derived from Mino Province, the former name for the area...

.

History

Sōfuku-ji was originally built during the Kamakura period

Kamakura period

The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

. However, because it suffered from much deterioration, Saitō Toshimasa moved and rebuilt the temple in 1511. In 1517, he gave it its current name. According to other stories, though, it was originally built in 1469, by Toki Shigeyori

Toki Shigeyori

was a leading military commander during the Muromachi period in Mino Province , Japan. The characters for his name can also be read as Toki Nariyori. He became the eighth head of the Toki clan at the age of 15 and was the adopted son of Toki Mochimasu. His sons included Toki Masafusa and Toki...

 and Saitō Nagahiro, and it was officially opened in 1493.

When Oda Nobunaga moved into Gifu in 1567, he claimed Sōfuku-ji as his family temple

Bodaiji

A , in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor. The name is because in Japan the term , which originally meant just Buddhist enlightenment , has also come to mean either the...

. After Nobunaga and his son, Nobutada

Oda Nobutada

was the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga, and a samurai who fought in many battles during the Sengoku period. He commanded armies under his father in battles against Matsunaga Hisahide and against the Takeda clan....

, died during the Incident at Honnō-ji in 1582, many of their personal treasures were moved to the temple.

In 1600, when Oda Hidenobu

Oda Hidenobu

was the son of Oda Nobutada and lived during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the late-16th century. His other name was Sanpōshi .-Succession dispute:...

 was responding to Ishida Mitsunari

Ishida Mitsunari

Ishida Mitsunari was a samurai who led the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 17th century. Also known by his court title, Jibunoshō...

's call for assistance, Fukushima Masanori

Fukushima Masanori

was a Japanese daimyo of the late Sengoku Period to early Edo Period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears of Shizugatake which also included Katō Kiyomasa and...

 and Ikeda Terumasa

Ikeda Terumasa

was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period. His court title was Musashi no Kami.Terumasa fought in many of the battles of the late Azuchi-Momoyama Period, and due to his service at the Battle of Sekigahara, received a fief at Himeji....

 sieged the castle and destroyed it during the Battle of Gifu Castle

Battle of Gifu Castle

The was a battle in August 1600 that led to the destruction of Gifu Castle in Gifu, Mino Province , Japan. The battle served as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara the following month. It pitted Oda Hidenobu of the western forces against Ikeda Terumasa and Fukushima Masanori of the eastern forces...

. Hidenobu's vassals died during this siege and, after the destruction of the castle, the blood-stained floor of the castles main tower was used to create the new "Blood Ceiling" in the temple.

During the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, the temple received much support from the government and, as a result, prospered. It also became a prayer place for the Arisugawa-no-miya

Arisugawa-no-miya

The ' is one of the shinnōke, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were, until 1947, eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out....

. Also, Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651.-Early life :...

 supported this temple immensely because his wet nurse as a child, Lady Kasuga

Lady Kasuga

was from a prominent Japanese samurai family of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods. Born Saitō Fuku , she was a daughter of Saitō Toshimitsu . Her mother's father was Inaba Yoshimichi. Married to Inaba Masanari, she had three sons, including Inaba Masakatsu, and an adopted son, Hotta Masatoshi...

, who was the daughter of Saitō Toshimitsu

Saito Toshimitsu

was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. Once a retainer of Inaba Ittetsu, he later joined Akechi Mitsuhide. Oda Nobunaga became extremely angry when hearing of this event, and would have killed him if not for Mitsuhide's intervention. Toshimitsu was also vital for the Akechi action at...

, a relative of Dōsan.

See also

• For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
  Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
  This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries...
  
  .