Information AboutHongan-ji |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HONGAN-JI | |
| 1321 establishments | |
| buddhist temples in kyoto prefecture | |
| world heritage sites in japan | |
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is a term that has been used to refer to a number of Buddhist temples across Japan's History . However, it refers primarily to a pair of temples, which were once one, in Kyoto . HISTORY The Honganji was established as a temple in 1321 , on the site of the Otani Mausoleum, where Shinran , the founder of the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) sect was buried. Kakunyo became the first chief priest of the Honganji, and dedicated it to the worship of Amida Buddha . The Honganji first gained power and importance in the 15th century, when Rennyo became its eighth chief priest. However, the Tendai sect, based on Mount Hiei , saw this expansion as a threat and attacked the Honganji three times with their army of Warrior Monks . Rennyo fled to Yoshizaki , where he founded the Ikko sect. During the Sengoku Period , fearing the power of the monks of the Honganji, Oda Nobunaga tried to destroy it. For ten years, he laid siege to the Ishiyama Honganji in Osaka , one of the two primary temple fortresses of the Ikko sect. In 1604 , just after Tokugawa Ieyasu became Shogun , he declared that the Honganji be split in two. Kyonyo , the 12th chief priest of the Honganji became the first of the Higashi (Eastern) Honganji, while Junyo became chief priest of the Nishi (Western) Honganji. During the Meiji Restoration in the 1860s, the government set down new guidelines for the management of religious organizations. An organization called Shinshu Otani was put in control of the Higashi Honganji. In 1987 , the temple was renamed "Shinshu Honbyo", or New Buddhist Mausoleum, and its purpose was reverted back to that of a mausoleum. While the temple is therefore, officially, no longer "Higashi Honganji," most still regard it as such. The buildings have not been changed or moved, and of course the historical cultural and religious significance of the place cannot be changed. In 1996 , a new Higashi Honganji was established in the Higashiyama (Eastern Mountain) area of Kyoto by Otani Kohrin , the 25th head priest. NISHI-HONGANJI The Nishi-Honganji (西本願寺), like the Higashi Honganji, features a huge Goei-do (護衛堂), founder's hall) and a smaller Amida-do (阿弥陀堂), or Buddha hall, housing an image of the Amida Buddha . The Nishi Honganji's ''kura'' (倉), or storehouse, houses many National Treasures, most of which are not on view for the public. The ''shoin''(書院), or study hall, is also quite famous; it is split into two sections, the ''shiroshoin'' (白書院), or white study hall, and the ''kuroshoin'' (黒書院), or black study hall. The Kuroshoin is never opened to the public, but the Shiroshoin opens twice a month. Nishi-Honganji also contains Hiunkaku (悲運角), a large tea pavilion, and two Noh stages, one of which claims to be the oldest in existence, and the Kokei no Niwa (固形の庭) gardens. HIGASHI-HONGANJI The massive Goei-do (founders' hall) Gate of Higashi Honganji (東本願寺) is often one of the first things one sees walking north from JR Kyoto Station . Nearly identical to Nishi-Honganji in layout, it too features an Amida-dou, and a larger Goei-dou. The Goei-do at Higashi-Honganji dates from 1895 and vies with a number of other structures for the claim of largest wooden building in the world. A few blocks from the main grounds of the Higashi-Honganji is the Shosei-en garden, owned by the temple. Poet-scholar Ishikawa Jozan and landscape architect Kobori Enshu are said to have contributed to its design in the 17th century. OTHER TEMPLES OF THE NAME
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