Zuigan-ji
Encyclopedia
is a famous Rinzai Zen
Buddhist
temple in Matsushima
, Japan
—of the Myoshin-ji
branch.
by Jikaku Daishi
, but was rebuilt by the feudal lord Date Masamune
from 1604 onwards using lumber brought from Mount Kumano in Wakayama Prefecture
and skilled workmen from Kyoto
and Kii
. Hondō
(Hōjō), the main building, which was competed in 1609, measures 39 meteres by 25.2 meters and houses the principal Buddhist image. Many parts of the temple have been designated as natural treasures
and cultural assets. The haiku poet
Bashō
wrote a tribute to the golden walls inside the temple.
Zuigan-ji temple features a number of caves carved into the rock. These caves were used for memorial services and as a cinerarium to house the ashes of the deceased. The caves were constructed in the Kamakura period
and remained in use until the Edo period
.
The temple grounds also contain The Zuigan-ji Art Museum established on October 1, 1995 to display various artifacts, including calligraphy by former head monks, Fusuma
paintings, tea cups and portraits.
The temple sustained major damage in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
.http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0314/TKY201103140194.html
38.372178°N 141.059597°W
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...
Buddhist
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...
temple in Matsushima
Matsushima, Miyagi
is a town located in Miyagi District, Miyagi, Japan. It is most famous as the location of Matsushima Bay, one of the Three Views of Japan, and is also the site of the Zuigan-ji, one of the most famous Zen temples in Tōhoku, Entsū-in and Kanrantei....
, 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...
—of the Myoshin-ji
Myoshin-ji
is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan. The Myōshin-ji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism is the largest school in Rinzai Zen. This particular school contains within it more than three thousand temples throughout Japan, along with nineteen monasteries. The head temple was founded in the year 1342 by the...
branch.
Overview
The temple, commonly referred to as Zuigan-ji, was originally founded in 828828
Year 828 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Al-Andalus: The city of Merida rises twice in one year against the Umayyad emirate....
by Jikaku Daishi
Ennin
Ennin , who is better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi , was a priest of the Tendai school.- Birth and origin :...
, but was rebuilt by the feudal lord Date Masamune
Date Masamune
was a regional strongman of Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai...
from 1604 onwards using lumber brought from Mount Kumano in Wakayama Prefecture
Wakayama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Wakayama.- History :Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.- 1953 Wakayama Prefecture flood disaster :...
and skilled workmen from 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 Kii
Kii Province
, or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. The Kii Peninsula takes its name from this province....
. Hondō
Hondo
-Places:*Rio Hondo, the name of several locations*Hondo, Texas, a city in the United States*Hondo, New Mexico*Hondo, Kumamoto, a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan: old name for the main Japanese island of Honshū-Fiction:...
(Hōjō), the main building, which was competed in 1609, measures 39 meteres by 25.2 meters and houses the principal Buddhist image. Many parts of the temple have been designated as natural treasures
National treasures of Japan
National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...
and cultural assets. The haiku poet
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
Bashō
Matsuo Basho
, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
wrote a tribute to the golden walls inside the temple.
Zuigan-ji temple features a number of caves carved into the rock. These caves were used for memorial services and as a cinerarium to house the ashes of the deceased. The caves were constructed in 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....
and remained in use until 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 grounds also contain The Zuigan-ji Art Museum established on October 1, 1995 to display various artifacts, including calligraphy by former head monks, Fusuma
Fusuma
In Japanese architecture, fusuma are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about wide by tall, the same size as a tatami mat, and are two or three centimeters thick...
paintings, tea cups and portraits.
The temple sustained major damage in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
.http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0314/TKY201103140194.html
See also
- For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese BuddhismGlossary of Japanese BuddhismThis 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...
.
External links
- Official web site in Japanese
38.372178°N 141.059597°W