Читать книгу Kyoto - John H. Martin - Страница 12
ОглавлениеWalking Tour 3
HIGASHIYAMA AREA
Higashiyama: The Widow’s Temple, the Gion Cart Temple and the Great Chion-in
1 Yasaka Pagoda 八坂の塔
2 Ryozen Historical Museum 山歴史館
3 Gokoku Shrine 霊山護国神社
4 Ryozen Kannon Temple 霊山観音
5 Kodai-ji Nunnery 高台寺
6 Daiun-in (Gion Cart) Temple 大雲院
7 Maruyama Park 円山公園
8 Chion-in Temple 知恩院
To traverse the lanes between the temples and shrines and the romanticized story of the Taira Empress who alone survived the battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185 and who here took the tonsure to spend her final days as a nun in prayer for her lost child and family. The nearby Higashi Otani Cemetery, with its tomb to Priest Shinran, is a sacred spot to those millions who follow in the Jodo Shinshu faith of this great Buddhist religious reformer of the 1200s, who was persecuted for his faith. The close of the Japanese medieval period is also remembered by a site which again recalls the tempestuous relationship between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu (see Tour 2), for it contains the Kodai-ji Nunnery where Hideyoshi’s widow, Kitano Mandokoro, spent her years after Hideyoshi’s death. The modern age is not ignored, for the Ryozen Historical Museum is a monument to the heady days of the mid to late 19th century when the Tokugawa Shogun’s government was losing power and the new Meiji era and modern Japan were being born. An aspect of the unhappy consequences of the militaristic spirit of that period is marked by the gigantic concrete Kannon image that arose after World War II in memory of and expiation for the millions who died in the two decades of Japan’s Greater East Asia folly. Even more recently, the new Daiun-in Temple, with its unusual pagoda in the shape of a huge Gion cart, has added a new element to the skyline at the foot of the Higashiyama hills, a temple which enriches the city with examples of the Buddhist murals of the Chinese caves of Dun Huang as well. There is also a lighter side to this area of Kyoto with its ochaya and geisha entertainment in the inns along the narrow streets between Higashi-oji-dori and Kitamon-mae-dori, and with the opportunity to savor the non-alcoholic delights of amazake, once the beverage of Buddhist nuns, or to enjoy the restaurants about Maruyama Park. The tour then ends at the great Chion-in Temple, where priest Honen is buried and where the devotion to Amida and to Honen is celebrated with great reverence.
1 YASAKA PAGODA
We begin this tour at the small Hokan-ji Temple, the oldest temple in Kyoto, which is best known for its Yasaka Pagoda. It is most easily reached from the bus stop at Higashioji-dori and Kiyomizu-michi, the same bus stop used in Tour 1. Buses 202, 203, 206 or 207, which run along Higashi-oji-dori, serve the bus stop. After alighting from the bus, walk three streets north on Higashi-oji-dori and then turn right on to Yasaka-dori. A torii gate stands at the entrance to Yasaka-dori at Higashi-oji-dori, and that street, after a slight jog to the right and then the left, will lead you to the tall pagoda of the small Hokan-ji Temple. The temple grounds are open between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Entry fee.
The Yasaka Pagoda and its few tiny buildings are all that remain of the Hokan-ji Temple, said to have been established by a family named Yasaka-no-Miyatsuko, who had probably come to Japan from Korea and settled in this region in the 500s, some two centuries before Kyoto was created as a city.
The five-story Yasaka Pagoda towers over the Higashiyama neighborhood.
Their religious life is thought to have centered around the Hokan-ji, which tradition says was created in 588 by Prince Shotoku, the founder of Buddhism in Japan. This claim is, no doubt, one of those pious but questionable traditions, since the prince would only have been 16 years old at that time. Nonetheless, the temple was to become one of the principal Buddhist temples of Kyoto in the early centuries of the city. Historically regarded as the symbol of Kyoto, those who conquered the city were always anxious to display their colors at the Yasaka Pagoda. Time, however, has taken its toll on the original temple buildings, and the pagoda was replaced in 1192 by Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura Shogun’s government. The temple was later destroyed once more by fire and, of the reconstruction by Shogun Ashikaga-no-Yoshinori in 1440, only this five-story pagoda remains, the oldest pagoda in Kyoto. It was restored in 1618 by the governor of Kyoto.
The Hokan-ji Temple precincts are entered on the south side. Today, the temple consists of the five-story pagoda of 1440 and a few small buildings to the north of the pagoda. Two of these units are memorial halls with the flaming jewel atop their pyramidal roofs. The unit on the west (left when facing them) is the Taisho-do (Memorial Hall) to Prince Shotoku, the supposed founder of the temple. The Taishi-do contains an appealing image of the 16-year-old prince, a favorite image that appears in many temples, of the young man praying for his father (Emperor Yomei) as the emperor lay on his deathbed. The small building to its right is the Yakushi-do, with its gilt image of the Buddha Yakushi, the Buddha of healing and medicine, with his staff in his left hand. To the right of the Yakushi-do is the small modern Treasure House, while to the east of the pagoda is a Shinto shrine. The five-story Yasaka Pagoda is 126 feet (38 m) tall, and the interior walls, ceiling and columns of its base level are decorated with paintings, among which are images of Bodhisattvas on the walls. The interior of many pagodas have been decorated in this manner, and this is one of those rare examples which are available for viewing. In the center of the base level, on each side of the main pillar that supports the pagoda, are images of the four Nyorai Buddha: Hojo on the south, Amida on the west, Ashuka on the east and Shaka on the north. A large phoenix tops the spire of the pagoda.
EAST OF YASAKA PAGODA To the east of the Yasaka Pagoda are two sites which a century ago ranked among the most important in the city. Today, they are seldom visited and are mentioned here more as a curiosity. These are the Ryozen Rekishi-kan museum and the Gokoku Jinja shrine (a memorial to those who died in opposition to the Tokugawa Shoguns’ rule that ended in 1868).
2 RYOZEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The Ryozen Rekishi-kan (Historical Museum) is located across the road from the Gokoku Shrine on Kodai-ji Minami Monzen-dori. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on Mondays and the New Year holiday. Entry fee. The Ryozen Rekishi-kan is a museum depicting the history of the period on either side of 1868, the year in which the rule of Tokugawa Shoguns passed into history and the modernization of Japan under the name of the Meiji Emperor began. The displays consist of photographs, writings, armaments and other artifacts that relate the events of this epic period of change in Japanese political and cultural life. Special exhibitions on the Meiji era are also presented. In a sense, the museum replaces the memorial to the heroes of the Restoration, noted above, as time often effaces the public memory of men and events. As a specialized museum whose labels are in Japanese, few foreign visitors will patronize it, but it is mentioned here for those interested in the period of drastic change in Japan after the 1860s.
3 GOKOKU SHRINE
The Gokoku Jinja, also known as the Kyoto Shrine, is to the east of the Yasaka Pagoda at the top of Kodai-ji Minami Monzen-dori, which is one street to the north of the street in front of the entrance to the Yasaka Pagoda. Take Kodai-ji Minami Monzen-dori up the hill. At the top of the road, on the left as the road turns to the south, is the Gokoku Shrine. The shrine is open during daylight hours without charge. The is an old shrine meant to serve as the protector of the city and it differs little in appearance from other Shinto shrines. The buildings are behind a vermilion fence on the left as one mounts the hillside street to the shrine entrance. Within the grounds, beyond the entry torii, is the un-painted Heiden (Offertory), and beyond that is the Haiden (Oratory) and then the fenced Honden (Spirit Hall). As such, for the casual visitor it is of historical interest only. A century ago, when Shinto was being turned into the militaristic faith that served the military and the State, it held greater significance for the Japanese public than it now does. To the south of the Gokoku Shrine, a monument of major importance was raised in the late 19th century, a site now almost forgotten. This monument was dedicated to the heroes of the movement in the decade prior to 1868 who opposed the Tokugawa Shoguns and who helped to bring about the Meiji Restoration and the modernization of Japan. Here are buried a number of the heroes of that era, including Kido Koin, one of the leaders of Meiji times.
4 RYOZEN KANNON TEMPLE
The Gokoku Shrine and the Ryozen Rekishi-kan (Historical Museum) represent the heady days of the 1870s when the new Meiji government came into power and Japanese nationalism began the flowering which would ultimately lead to disaster for much of the world in the mid-1900s and then to the defeat of Japan in 1945. The Ryozen Kannon Temple, just a short distance away, marks the regret most Japanese feel for the extremes to which nationalism took the nation in the decade and a half after 1930. The route to the Ryozen Kannon Temple heads back down Koda-ji Minami Monzen-dori to Kita-mon-mae, the first narrow street to the right. A turn on to this street brings the towering image of the concrete Ryozen Kannon figure into sight and then the entrance to the temple grounds. The temple is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Entry fee.
In 1955, a 79 foot (23.7 m) tall seated Kannon image in concrete was built by a transportation firm to honor the war dead of the Pacific War (World War II in the Pacific and Asia). It honors not only the Japanese who died in combat but the dead of the Allied forces who opposed Japan. When you pay the entry fee, you receive a lighted incense stick; this is to be placed in the large incense pot before the shrine where prayers may be said for the peaceful repose of the dead. A modest Nio-mon gate leads into the Ryozen Kannon grounds. Beyond the entryway, a reflecting pool is situated before a large roofed incense pot where you may place the lit incense stick and pray. Behind the incense pot is the Hondo, the main shrine building, topped by the huge Kannon image. On the ground floor is an altar, under the base of the gigantic 11-headed Kannon, the god of mercy, the main image of the memorial temple. In the northwest section of this level is an image of the recumbent Buddha as he appeared when he passed from this life upon achieving Nirvana. A 5 foot (1.5 m) tall Buddha on a lotus is in the southwest area. A staircase behind this portion of the building leads into the lower part of the huge Kannon image where the altars have the figures of the zodiac year.
This large statue of Kannon honors the fallen Japanese and Allied soldiers of the Pacific War.
Behind this main structure is a Memorial Hall to the Japanese war dead with a file of names of all those who died in the years of the Japanese wars of the 1930s and 1940s. To the north of the main temple building is an 8 foot (2.4 meter) long memorial footprint of the Buddha, and west of that is a gold sphere under a roof. Beyond, to the north, is a garden. To the south of the main Kannon structure is a second Memorial Hall to the war dead of the Allied forces of the 1940–5 Pacific War. An altar (with English captions) and a file of the names of the Allied dead is maintained here. The altar contains soil from each of the military cemeteries in the Pacific. Just west of the Allied memorial, toward the entry gate, is a modern shrine of 1,000 Buddhas with an image of a Buddha with an infant in his arms. To the south of the Allied memorial is an open domed structure with an outdoor altar with benches where memorial services are held. This solemn and impressive contribution of a private citizen to the memory of the war dead is a fitting representation of the sorrow felt by the Japanese for the errors and disasters brought upon so many by the Japanese military rulers of the 1930s and 1940s.
5 KODAI-JI NUNNERY
Adjacent to the Ryozen Kannon Temple and to its north is the Kodai-ji Nunnery, the retreat of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s widow when she became a nun after her husband’s death in 1598. It represents, in a sense, the conclusion to the story of the hatred of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hideyoshi’s successor, for Hideyoshi and his family. When one leaves the Ryozen Kannon Temple, the entrance to the Kodai-ji Nunnery is on the south side of the Kodai-ji grounds. If the nunnery is approached from Kita-mon-mae-dori, beyond the entrance to the Ryozen Kannon Temple on that street, a path which turns to the right leads along the south side of Kodai-ji to its entry gate. Kodaiji is a Zen temple of the Rinzai branch of Buddhism and is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Entry fee.
The fact that Kodai-ji is a nunnery adds another interesting element to the Hideyoshi– Ieyasu relationship as described in Tour 2 above. Kodai-ji was originally founded in 838, but its renaissance as a Buddhist nunnery began after Hideyoshi’s death in 1598. In 1605, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu granted this temple to Hideyoshi’s widow, Kitano Mandokoro, when she became an ama (nun) to pray for the soul of her husband, and here she lived until shortly before her death. Ieyasu was more than generous in helping to create a magnificent nunnery for the widow, a political ploy to indicate his regard for the Toyotomi family—although his ultimate intent actually was to obliterate the family of Hideyoshi. The rebuilt temple was designed by two architects under Ieyasu’s orders, and by 1604 all the temple structures had been erected. Sanko Joeki, the former abbot of Kennin-ji, was installed as its founding abbot. To further console Kitano Mandokoro, Ieyasu ordered that the So-mon Gate to Hideyoshi’s castle in Fushimi, with its carvings of foxes and dragons by Hidari Jingoro, be moved to Kodai-ji in 1605, and this became the still extant Omotemon (Front Gate) to the nunnery. (The gate on the west side of the temple grounds is not open to the public; the front or main gate is on the southern side of the nunnery.) The Keisho-den was also moved from Fushimi to serve as Kitano Mandokoro’s residence. This building was later turned into the Ko Hojo (the Abbot’s small quarters), but in 1847 it burned to the ground along with the Dai Hojo (the Abbot’s large quarters), the Kara-mon (Chinese gate) and other buildings. The temple is said to have been one of the most attractive temples in the luxurious Momoyama style in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Kitano Mandokoro, who had taken the religious name of Kodai-in, spared no expense in the enhancement of the Kodai-ji, but at best she had tragic years here as a nun. The Hoko-ji Temple and its Buddha were completed in 1612 in her husband’s memory, and its great bell was dedicated in 1614. Ieyasu (as detailed under the entry on the Hoko-ji) interpreted the inscription on the bell as an offense against him, and in time he would destroy all the memorials to Hideyoshi. Then, in November of 1614, Ieyasu led his army against Hideyori (the son by Hideyoshi’s favorite consort, Yodogimi) at Hideyori’s Osaka Castle. A truce was arranged whereby the outer defensive walls were leveled and the moat was filled in. The following year, Ieyasu treacherously returned to the attack when he led 200,000 soldiers in the second battle against the castle (which Hideyori had inherited as a five-year-old boy in 1598 at his father’s death). Hideyori’s 100,000 men were overwhelmed, and the Toyotomi family was annihilated. (Hideyori’s small son, aged seven, was beheaded and his head posted on a bridge over the Kamo River in Kyoto, as were those of criminals or traitors. Hideyori’s daughter, aged five, was sent to a nunnery in Kamakura for the rest of her life. (Alternative tales claim that Ieyasu permitted the Toyotomi family to escape by boat and that they were befriended by one of the daimyo for life— a not too likely story.)
The dry landscape garden in front of the Hojo (Abbot’s quarters) at Kodai-ji.
Yodogimi, Hideyoshi’s favorite concubine and the mother of Hideyori, died at the siege of Osaka Castle, reputedly by having one of her servants kill her so she would not fall into Ieyasu’s hands. She died despite a plea to spare her life by Ono Harunage, who had rescued Ieyasu’s granddaughter (who had been left as a hostage with Yodogimi) from the flames of Osaka Castle. After the siege of the castle and the death of its defenders, thousands of heads were placed on pikes lining the road from Fushimi to Kyoto as a warning to any prospective opponents of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Kodai-ji continued to exist as a Buddhist temple after the death of Kitano Mandokoro. Sanko Joeki, abbot of the Kennin-ji Temple, had been appointed as founding priest at the nunnery, and Kodai-ji has remained as one of the largest and most important subtemples of Kennin-ji since that time. Kodai-ji was damaged by a number of fires in 1789 and then, ironically, in 1863, as tension increased between the incumbent Tokugawa Shogun and those who wished to restore the Emperor to power, the temple was damaged once more. The supporters of the Imperial cause, suspecting that one of their Tokugawa opponents had taken refuge in Kodai-ji, attacked the temple and set fire to some of the buildings. Thus today only a few of the temple’s original 17th century structures still exist: the Omotemon Gate, the So-mon Gate to the nunnery, the Kaisan-do (Founder’s Hall), the Kangetsudai covered bridge and walkway, the Otamaya (Sanctuary), and the Kurakasa-tei and the Shigure-tei (two small tea houses). A new Hojo (Abbot’s quarters) was erected in 1913.
Kodai-ji is entered through the Omote-mon Gate on its southern side, and the path leads you to the left to the ticket booth. From there you proceed ahead and then to the right behind some temple buildings toward the Kangetsu-dai (Moon Viewing Platform) and the Kaisan-do (Founder’s Hall). The Kangetsu-dai is a roofed corridor or bridge that leads over the stream between the Garyu (Dragon) Pond and the Engetsu (Crescent Moon) Pond to the Kaisan-do (Founder’s Hall). It has a small four-pillared structure in its mid-length. In this center section, when the Kangetsu-dai was located at Hideyoshi’s Fushimi Castle, Hideyoshi would sit to gaze at the moon. In the northern section of the ponds is an island in the shape of a turtle, while in the southern portion is a group of stones meant to resemble a crane, these two animals being the traditional symbols of longevity. Work on the ponds and garden was begun by the famous landscape designer Kobori Enshu in the 1620s, but the design was not perfected for another 65 years.
A path leads alongside the garden to the front walkway to the Kaisan-do, which was dedicated to the memory of Sanko Joeki, the founding priest of Kodai-ji. To create a memorial hall befitting her temple, Kitano Mandokoro commissioned the decorating of the pillars, walls and ceiling of the Kaisan-do by leading artists from the Kano and Tosa schools of painting. The ceiling of the inner room boasts not only a dragon by Kano Eitoku (1543–90) but also the ceiling from Kitano Mandokoro’s carriage, while the ceiling of the front room contains a portion of the roof of the war junk created for use by Hideyoshi in his war against Korea and China. The inner shrine contains an image of Sanko Joeki, while the statues on either side of the steps are of Kinoshita Iesada and Unryo-in, Kitano Mandokoro’s elder brother and younger sister. The four panels of the shrine in this hall are by the noted 15th century artist Kano Motonobu.
The Kangetsu-dai, the roofed corridor with its Moon Viewing Pavilion, which leads to the Kaisan-do from the west, is continued on the eastern side of the Kaisan-do. The corridor is named the Garyoro (Reclining Dragon Corridor) from the resemblance of its sloping roof to the back of a reclining dragon, the roof tiles having been laid in a manner that resembles the scales on the back of a dragon. (Only a short length at its far end may be entered.) If the Kaisan-do would appear to be overly decorated, it cannot match the Momoyama period splendor of the Otama-ya, the Spirit Hall or Mausoleum. A path leads from the central walkway of the Kaisan-do to the east and to the front gate of the Otama-ya, a building enclosed behind white walls. Built to the east of the Kaisan-do in 1606, it is particularly noted for its tatamaki-e (raised lacquer work), an early example of what has become known as the art of Kodai-ji-maki (lacquer). Gold lacquer artistry reached a luxurious peak in the designs in this Spirit Hall, and the walls, furniture, cabinets, altar and altar dishes are all decorated in the Kodai-ji-maki-e technique.
The altar is truly a masterpiece of lacquer craft. Its central image of worship is that of Kannon. Instead of having the usual Bodhisattva images on either side of the main image, the Kannon in this memorial hall is flanked by two miniature shrines. The shrine on the left holds a wooden image of the seated Hideyoshi, the shrine case having designs in gold from Kitano Mandokoro’s carriage. Hideyoshi’s hat is the one sent to him by the Emperor of China. On the opposite side of the altar on the right is a wooden image of Kitano Mandokoro as a nun. The building is further embellished with paintings by Kano school artists and the classical “Thirty-six Poets” by Tosa Mitsunobu (1434–1525).
East of the main buildings and further up the hillside are two small thatch-roofed tea houses, also from Fushimi Castle, connected by a thatch-roofed walkway. They bear the names of Shigure-tei (Shower of Rain) and Karakasa-tei (Umbrella). Shigure-tei was designed by Toyobo Sochin, a disciple of Sen-no-Rikyu, the great tea master and garden designer of the late 1500s. At the time of Hideyoshi’s 1587 tea party at the Kitano Tenman-gu shrine, to which he invited everyone to be present, even “those from China,” all the important tea masters designed tea houses which were exhibited at the tea party. Toyobo’s tea house eventually found a permanent home at Kodai-ji Temple. The Karakasatei is so-named since, from the inside of the tea house, the poles or struts supporting the thatched roof radiate from a central point at the conical peak of the roof—thereby resembling the struts of an opened umbrella from the underside. The real name of the tea house is more romantic: Ankan-kutsa (Place of Idleness).
Northwest of the Kangetsu-dai are two small buildings, one of which is the Iho-an (Cottage of Lingering Fragrances). According to one account, it was the favorite tea ceremony house of a wealthy merchant and the courtesan Yoshino-tayu, a famed dancer and beauty who later married the merchant. Another account claims this to be an incense ceremony building, supposedly of Hideyoshi’s time. Nearby is Entoku-in, a subtemple of Kodai-ji which was once the mansion of Kinoshita Toshifusa, a nephew of Kitano Mandokoro. The Hojo (Abbot’s Quarters), rebuilt in 1913, has a landscape painting on its fusuma that is thought to be by Tohaku Hasegawa, while the garden of the Hojo lies to its north, a Momoyama dry garden with magnificent rocks from Hideyoshi’s Fushimi Castle. Among the treasures of the temple on display between November 1st and 10th each year are gold screens by Kano Motonobu (1476–1559), Kano Koi and Hasegawa Tohaku (1539–1610). Certain relics of Hideyoshi and Kitano Mandokoro remain as well, notably his writing box, her black lacquer “clothes horse” and a set of small dining trays and covered bowls, all originally from Fushimi Castle.
The Iho-an tea ceremony house in the Kodai-ji Temple complex is noted for its large circular window.
A lighter and less solemn aspect of a nun’s life can be experienced across from the west side of Kodai-ji on Kita-mon-mae-dori at the Bunnosuke-jaya, one of the few remaining amazake shops that once flourished in this area. Ama are nuns, and Buddhist nuns are not supposed to consume alcohol. Thus the lees of saké (the solids left after pressing and filtering) were used to make a sweet, non-alcoholic beverage—one much favored by the nuns. Behind the building is a small shrine to Daikoku-ten, the god of wealth, said to have been brought to this spot by Kitano Mandokoro from Fushimi Castle since Daikoku-ten was Hideyoshi’s patron deity. Just north of this tea shop is a garden (now in private ownership) that can be seen from the tea house property. Designed by Kobori Enshu, it is a karesansui (dry landscape) garden in which Kobori used stones from Fushimi Castle after Ieyasu had it leveled in 1620, five years after Ieyasu had eliminated the last of the Toyotomi family.
The narrow lanes between Kodai-ji and Higashi-oji-dori once held the homes of Kyoto’s well-to-do. The changes that occurred after World War II led to the abandonment of these villas by merchants who could no longer afford to maintain them. Now the villas have become inns and tea houses. It is an interesting area to wander about, particularly in the evening when the inns and tea houses along the narrow lanes come to life.
6 DAIUN-IN (GION CART) TEMPLE
Continuing to the north on Kita-mon-mae-dori from Kodai-ji and Bunnosuke-jaya, you cannot help but be reminded that the Yasaka (Gion) Shrine is not too far distant, for looming up ahead is what seems to be a gigantic Gion cart such as is pulled along the central streets of Kyoto every mid-July during the Gion Festival. The structure, however, is immense and obviously permanent. What you see is actually no cart: it is the huge and extra ordinary pagoda of the Daiun-in Temple, a pagoda that was constructed in the shape of a gigantic multistory Gion Festival cart in concrete. Kita-mon-mae-dori comes to an end as you walk north, and you must take a right turn and then a left turn at the next street on the left. This places you before the entrance to the Daiun-in. (The temple is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Entry fee.)
The Daiun-in Temple resembles a huge Gion cart.
The Daiun-in Temple buildings are 20th century and are an unusual addition to the Kyoto scene. The temple precincts are entered through the Administrative Building, with the large room to the right of the entry hall serving as a museum of the temple’s treasures. As its focal point are a standing image of Amida with a seated monk to the right and the image of a medieval official to the left. The cases in the room display scrolls and other articles of a religious nature. A path from the entry building leads along a garden on the right to the entry to the pagoda. At the base of the pagoda is an altar with a seated image of Amida, hands in a contemplative position. Behind the image, an aureole holds small raised Buddha figures, which stand out from the traditional 1,000 Buddha images impressed in the aureole. A series of stairways from the entry hall lead up to the two outer platforms at the top of the pagoda, the walls and ceilings along the way covered with paintings depicting the Buddhist murals in the Dun Huang caves of western China. Explanations of the paintings are provided in both Japanese and English. The two outside platforms under the roof of the pagoda provide an excellent view over Kyoto on three sides, with the Higashiyama mountain range on the fourth side to the east.
7 MARUYAMA PARK
Leaving the Daiun-in and continuing north on the path, one comes to the beginning of Maruyama Park (Maruyama Koen) straight ahead and on the right. The rear portion of the Yasaka (Gion) Shrine (not to be confused with Yasaka Pagoda) is on the left. But first a digression is in order to a small temple at the beginning of the slope of Higashiyama range on the right, a temple associated with a much-loved romantic and tragic story.
CHORAKU-JI A road runs eastward along the south side of Maruyama Park in the direction of the mountains. At the end of this roadway lies a long stone stairway which leads to the Choraku-ji Temple. The temple is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Entry fee. Choraku-ji was built by priest Saicho (Dengyo Daishi), one of the two major Buddhist priests at the time of the founding of Kyoto in the 790s. The temple was created sometime between 782 and 806 by the Tendai sect, but it was rebuilt in the 14th century by Priest Ippen, who converted it to the Ji sect of Buddhism (see below). Successive emperors worshipped here, and thus the temple had a degree of prominence.
A minor temple today, Choraku-ji is best known for the most noted individual associated with it: Taira-no-Tokuko, better known as the former Empress Kenrei-mon-in. At the sea battle of Dan-no-ura between the Taira and Minamoto clans in 1185, she and her mother-in-law (who was holding Kenrei-monin’s seven-year-old son, the Emperor Antoku) jumped into the sea with the child to end their lives when the battle was lost. The Empress had also flung herself into the sea to escape capture by the Minamoto forces, but she was saved from drowning by being dragged from the water by her long hair. Sent back to Kyoto, she lived in a small hut belonging to a poor priest, and at 29 she took the tonsure at Choraku-ji. As an added catastrophe after the deaths of her family and her degradation, an earthquake destroyed the miserable hut in which the former Empress had taken refuge. She was moved to the Jakko-in Temple in the Ohara region to a 10 square foot (1 sq m) retreat, and there she lived out her life in prayer.
Up the long stone stairway of this hillside site, the entrance to the Choraku-ji Temple leads to a further climb to the only early buildings that remain today: the Hondo (Main Hall), Shoro (Bell Tower), Kuri (Priests’ Quarters)— and a modern Treasure House which completes the complex. The small Hondo has a double roof and, within, a black lacquer altar has a noted image of Priest Honen in its sometimes closed altar case. The Shoro is to the left (north) of the Hondo, and beyond it a little way further up the hillside is a charming dell. Here, a small open but roofed unit holds two Jizo images. Beyond it is a small waterfall descending from the hillside, and across the resulting rivulet is an equally small Shinto shrine to the deity of the temple land.
Adjacent to the shrine is the modern Treasury. Within it on the left wall is a picture of Kenreimon-in as a nun with Awa-no-Naishi, her faithful aide. The statues of seven priests once associated with the temple are ranged across the back of the building. In the row of priests, the end two are seated images while the third from the left is a monk in a Chinese-style chair. The middle image, carved by Kosho in 1420, is of Ippen Shonin, founder of the Ji sect of Buddhism, which was dedicated to the continuous repetition of the Nembutsu (“All Praise to Amida”). (Ippen chose as his Buddhist name a word which means “for one and for all,” indicative of how the Nembutsu usage was making Buddhism a universal religion in Japan rather than just an aristocratic religion as it had first been.) The full-length statue of priest Ippen chanting the Nembutsu, with the small Amida images issuing from his lips as he walks on a pilgrimage, is stiff and angular, and it is nowhere as successful in portraying a walking devotee of Amida as is the image of Kuya in the Rokuhara-mitsu-ji Temple. Its sharply carved cheeks are reminiscent of the style of carving employed in Noh masks.
HIGASHI OTANI CEMETERY Returning down the path from the Choraku-ji, on the left hand side of the street is the entrance to the Higashi Otani mausoleum and cemetery. The grounds and temple are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. without charge. Established in 1671 as a mortuary chapel for the abbots of the Higashi Hongan-ji Temple in central Kyoto, Higashi Otani has become an important cemetery since a portion of the cremated ashes of Priest Shinran Shonin, the founder of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism, was reburied here in 1653. Followers of this sect often desire to have their cremated remains buried close to the ashes of the founder. A handsome gateway decorated with carvings of chrysanthemums and other flora provides an entrance to the grounds, and then a sloping path turns to the right. Ahead on the right is the roofed Purification Basin with an extended bronze dragon from whose mouth the water issues. Directly beyond this structure is a long temple building with a hall for funeral services. Across from these units is the small Hondo (Main Hall) with its altar figure of Amida sculpted in wood. A shrine on the right holds a portrait of Shinran and one of Prince Shotoku, while on the left are portraits of past abbots of the Higashi Hongan-ji Temple. Behind the Hondo are other temple buildings not open to the general public.
In front of the Hondo, a flight of steps to the east lead up to the forecourt before the massive Mausoleum of Shinran. A small roofed oratory stands before a richly ornamented Kara-mon (Chinese-style gate) to Shinran’s tomb, a lattice-fenced wall stretching to the right and left of the gateway. Behind the gate is a plain granite wall which encompasses the Tomb of Shinran. Rectangular in shape, it is 30 feet (9 m) high with a circumference of 102 feet (30.6 m). The wall is crowned in front with a tiger-shaped stone, said to have been Shinran’s favorite. Returning down the steps to the level of the Hondo, a short path to the left (south) passes the temple bell and through a gate. To the left, rising tier upon tier up the hillside, is the Higashi Hongan-ji Cemetery, crowded with thousands of tombstones. Part way up the hillside is a memorial building. On August 15th each year, the 20,000 graves are decorated with candles as a part of the service for the dead, whose souls return briefly to this world and then return to the netherworld at the end of the O-Bon period. The candle lighting ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m.
MARUYAMA PARK Returning to the north–south street from which the walk to the Choraku-ji Temple began, a right turn brings you back to Maruyama Park, which is bounded on the north by the grounds of the Chion-in Temple, by the mountains to the east, and by the Higashi Otani mausoleum grounds and the Choraku-ji Temple to the south. Maruyama Park is one of the larger public parks in Kyoto. In the past it was the site of several temples, but all were destroyed over time by fires. Within the park is the site of the former Sorin-ji Temple which was established by the great priest Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) in the latter part of the 8th century; its site is now marked only by the Yakushi-do shrine. The famed 12th century poet Saigyo lived here in a cell at the Sorin-ji at one time.
In 1871, the government turned the area into a public park, one of the first such public pleasure parks in the city. With the wooded Higashiyama mountains as a background on the east and the shrine and temples on its three other sides, it is an oasis away from the traffic and noise of the city streets. Two ponds, with a charming arched bridge over the stream between them, a water spout tossing a spray of water into the air, and the maples, willows, cherry trees and colorful bushes have made this a favorite area with Kyoto residents. With restaurants about it, the park has been a place for quiet relaxation and enjoyment for over a century. The center of the park is noted for its hundreds of cherry trees, whose blossoms in early April provide an additional pleasure. In the past they were viewed in the evening by torchlight, and this tradition is still maintained, albeit modern illumination is now provided.
You might enjoy a pleasant rest in the park or some refreshments before returning to Higashi-oji-dori to the west of the park. Here, at the intersection with Shijo-dori, a number of bus lines or taxis are available to the various sections of the city or to the Chion-in, which lies just to the north of the park within walking distance.
8 CHION-IN TEMPLE
Chion-in lies at the foot of Awata-yama of the Higashiyama mountains in extensive grounds (35 acres/14.5 hectares). Chion-in is a very important temple in Buddhism, for it is the seat of the Superior of the Jodo (Amida) sect, with more than 7,000 subtemples throughout Japan as well as branch temples overseas. Thus it is well worth being described in detail. The sect was founded by priest Honen Shonin, for here he had his small hermitage, and here is his mausoleum, a sacred spot for believers. The temple compound includes 17 halls and five gates, and from 1619 to the 1870s it had an Imperial prince as its head until the Meiji government dissolved that relationship. In 1872, under pressure from the government in its anti-Buddhist campaign, the Shue-do (Assembly Hall) of the temple was used as the site of the Kyoto Exhibition, and it was here that Doshisha University, a Christian institution, had its initial meeting to found that missionary enterprise.
Maruyama Park is a favorite cherry blossom viewing site in early April.
The huge San-Mon Gate is the main entrance to the grounds of Chion-in Temple.
Priest Honen, the founder of the Jodo sect of Buddhism, was born in a small village in present-day Okayama City. When he was nine years old, his father was fatally wounded by an attacker, and his dying father implored his son not to seek revenge but to become a monk. Following his father’s wishes, he studied at the Bodai-ji Temple near Okayama under a local priest who was also his uncle. Eventually, he moved to the monastery of Mount Hiei outside of Kyoto, where he was ordained into the priesthood in 1147. At 18 he left the monastery to wander as a hermit, seeking religious instruction from leading Buddhist priests throughout Japan. Settling in time in a hut in Kyoto, in 1175, when he was 43, he became convinced that salvation could come solely through the repetition of the Nembutsu (Namu Amida Butsu—”All Praise to the Amida Buddha”). In accepting this belief, he rejected the concept that one could be saved through one’s own efforts. As the “Age of Mappo” drew near, the Age of the Destruction of Buddha’s Law, Honen became convinced that man could no longer attain salvation by himself; one could still gain admittance to Paradise, but only through exclusive reliance on Amida and his mercy.
As Honen taught this doctrine, and as his fame grew, he was asked to preach at the Imperial court, but he devoted himself instead to preaching primarily to the common man. In 1198, at 66, he put his ideas into writing and so he made his teachings available to later generations as well as for his own time. His very popularity engendered jealousy in other, more orthodox Buddhist theologians, and this envy plagued him during his life-time and was to trouble his sect even after his death. (In 1201, Shinran (1173–1262) became one of his disciples, and he was later to found a variant Jodo sect.) By 1204 Honen had 190 disciples, but in that year the temples at Mount Hiei struck out at his faith by having the court forbid the use of the Nembutsu as an exclusive means of salvation. Basically, these temples were concerned over the growing popularity of Honen’s teachings and the spread of his beliefs among the people. His enemies even reached into the Imperial court to attack him, and when one of his disciples, Anraku, accepted two court ladies as nuns, his theological opponents influenced the former Emperor Go-Toba to order the execution of Anraku and another of Honen’s priests in 1207. As a corollary action, the Emperor also exiled Honen from Kyoto in that same year, when Honen was 74—an opportunity to spread his doctrine beyond the capital. At 79 Honen was pardoned. He returned to Kyoto, and re-established his hermitage at the present site of Chion-in. The following year he undertook a religious fast, a pious act that closed his life with his death.
The persecution did not end with Honen’s death, for his remains, and later his ashes, had to be secreted at various temples to escape the wrath of his theological opponents before the ashes came to rest in 1234 at the site of his former hermitage, the Chion-in Temple and the mausoleum for his ashes, a tomb which one of his disciples, Genchi, had erected in his honor. The new temple was destroyed by fire in 1431, but the greatest benefactor was Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had it rebuilt on three terraces—the Jo-dan, Chudan and Ge-dan (upper, middle and lower terraces). Another fire in 1633 burned all but the San-mon, Kyo-zo, Amida-do and Seishi-do, but Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu had the temple restored over the next eight years.
SAN-MON GATE Today, the temple grounds beyond Higashi-oji-dori are entered primarily through the San-mon Gate on its western side at Jingu-dori. This huge gateway is at the top of a series of stone steps with large lanterns standing on either side of and in front of the steps. Built between 1617 and 1619 at the order of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada (restored in 1989), it is a two-story structure with a tile roof. The massive gateway measures 90 feet (27.4 m) wide by 44 feet (13.4 m) deep, by 80 feet (24.4 m) tall. It is a gate with three portals, each with a set of huge double doors, and is one of the most impressive gateways in Japan. A huge tablet, 5 feet (1.5 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m), in the calligraphy of the Emperor Reigan (1663–87) reads “Kacho Zan” (Flower Summit Mount). The second floor of the gateway has a hall in Chinese style, and on a platform at the rear of the hall is an image of Shaka (Sakyamuni) as the main object of worship, with images of Zenzai-doji on his left and Suda-choja on his right. On each side of the main images are eight life-sized rakan (disciples of Shaka) by the sculptor Koyu. The interior of the hall is decorated with paintings of mythological animals, dragons, and geometrical designs in rich colors, while the ceiling is enlivened by a painting of a dragon and apsara (angels) in the clouds. From the balcony, one can look down the avenue in front of the gate with its cherry trees leading up to the temple—and to the city beyond.
MIE-DO (MEMORIAL HALL) Once past the San-mon Gate, the largest and most important building of the temple, the Mie-do (Main or Memorial Hall) is on the left. The hall was built in 1639 in the Momoyama style by order of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu to hold the image of Honen as its main object of reverence. The single-story 11 by 9 bay structure is 174 feet (53 m) long by 140 feet (42.7 m) deep, and it stands 94.5 feet (28.8 m) high. It is surrounded by corridors 11 feet (3.4 m) wide. Under the southwest corner of the roof is an oiled umbrella (kasa) which was left in place by the builders at the time of construction as a charm to protect the Mie-do against the forces of evil. Legend, and there is always one, claims that the umbrella flew from the hands of a boy, the Shinto deity Inari in disguise, as the protector of the Chion-in to safeguard the temple against fires.
The front portion of the Mie-do interior is designed for worshippers, and this area, 34 feet (10.4 m) deep, is covered with 250 tatami mats in this 825 mat-sized hall. The attention of the worshippers is directed to the illuminated altar section to the north. Two rows of pillars divide the altar area into three parts, each with an image platform along its rear wall. The central or middle section holds an elaborate shrine in which, behind closed doors, is the seated image of Honen, said to have been carved by the founder of the sect as a self-portrait. Except on ceremonial occasions, the doors to this shrine are kept closed. The altar area is a contrast of black walls and golden pillars so that the golden central section, to which the worshippers’ attention is directed, stands out in all of its richness.
The section to the right (east) of this middle area has various shrines, the main shrine holding the Amida image which Honen is said to have worshipped. Another shrine has the image of Zendo, the Chinese master of Buddhism to whom the Nembutsu practice can be traced. The image has internal organs of brocade, a Chinese Buddhist influence that was meant to make the image a “living” being. This Kamakura period (1185–1333) image is a standing figure, its hands held in prayer, its mouth open. At one time the image had six small Amida figures issuing from its mouth—an indication that the priest was repeating the Nembutsu. Memorial tablets to past abbots are lodged here as well.
Additional shrines hold images of important priests, including that of Genchi, who, as one of Honen’s leading disciples, established Chion-in on the site of Honen’s hermit-age, The section to the left (west) of the central area serves as a memorial to the early Tokugawa who benefited the temple: in a shrine case (zushi) on the left is an image of Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa Shogun, who not only rebuilt portions of the temple in the early 1600s but who had the remains of Shinran moved from this area and thus made physically more evident the division between Honen’s form of Jodo Amida faith and that of his most famous disciple Shinran.
A group of resident monks stride across the courtyard of Chion-in Temple.
There are additional images, including that of Tokugawa Iemitsu, who ordered the rebuilding of the temple after its latest fire. Hanging in the hall is a large tablet in honor of Honen which reads “Mesho” (Brillant Illumination), a bit of an oddity since it was created at the request of the Emperor Meiji at a time when his government was doing its best to eliminate Buddhism from the Japanese scene. Overall, the shrine glitters with its decorations in gold and black: gilt metal lotuses in giant bronze vases stand 21 feet (6.4 m) tall, great pillars are encased in gold leaf, large ceremonial drums stand in the altar area, and even the door hardware is in the shape of animals. The awe-inspiring visual atmosphere lives up to the Mie-do’s alternate name of Dai-den (Great Hall).
SHUE-DO (ASSEMBLY HALL) Corridors surround the Mie-do, as mentioned earlier, and, from the middle of the rear corridor, a 197 foot (60 m) long roofed bridge leads to the Shue-do, the Assembly Hall. The Shue-do, in turn, is connected to the Hojo, the Superior Abbot’s Quarters. The corridor lying between the two buildings is the work of the famed craftsman Hidari Jingoro, and the corridor is noted for its uguisubari floor—a “bush warbler floor” that emits a sound when trod upon. The Sue-do was constructed in 1639 and is 78 feet (23.8 m) deep by 146 feet (44.5 m) long.
The hall serves a number of purposes: here the monks gather to form the religious processions which are an important part of ceremonial occasions; here religious services are held; and here monks chant the sutras. Some 48 drums are available for religious use by worshippers in this 360-mat hall, a hall so impressive that it has been known with some exaggeration as a “1,000-mat hall.” Two altars are the focal point of the hall: the central shrine holds a bronze image of Amida with his hands in a contemplative mudra while on either side of him is Seishi on the left and Kannon on the right, all three the works of Eshin Sozu (942–1010); a secondary shrine has an Amida with a Monju in wood on his right in the guise of a robed Buddhist monk. A curiosity that is always pointed out is a huge wooden spoon (O-shakushi), 8.2 feet (2.5 m) long and weighing 66 pounds (30 kg), which is stored in the rafters of the front corridor of the Shue-do at its southeastern end as one moves toward the Dai Hojo.
At the southeast side of the Shue-do is a courtyard and a garden and from its south side there is an entrance both to the garden and to the Hojo (the Abbot’s or Superior’s Quarters); the garden contains a Bussokuseki, a stone with the footprint of the Buddha inscribed upon it. A 1639 Kara-mon (Chinese gate) to the Superior’s Quarters was created in the ostentatious Momoyama manner, but its doors are only opened for guests of the greatest importance.
THE HOJO (ABBOT’S QUARTERS) The Hojo is composed of two parts: the Dai Hojo and the Sho Hojo, the Greater and Lesser Abbot’s Quarters. Particularly noted for its fine fusuma (sliding screens) by artists of the Kano school, it is a nine by six bay building with a hinoki (cypress) bark roof. Surrounded by corridors, the building is 120 feet (36.6 m) long by 87 feet (26.5 m) deep. The surrounding corridors open on to 11 rooms, which are divided by the fusuma. The Dai Hojo is more important than the Sho Hojo since it has a sanctuary for a Buddha image, and thus its screen paintings are richly and gorgeously painted in gold leaf while those of the Sho Hojo are more simple and are painted on plain rather than gilt paper.
The interior of the Dai Hojo is divided into two sections—a north and south set of rooms. The first room on the south side, the portion you enter from the corridor from the Sue-do, is the Matsu-no-ma (Pine Tree Room) by Kano Sadanobu (1596–1622). The Stork (or Crane) Room by Kano Naonobu (1607–50), the middle room on the south side, is so named from the painted storks and pines on a gold ground on the fusuma. The room is also known as the Butsu-no-ma since at its rear is an alcove with a standing Amida image on a platform. The third room faces both to the south and to the east, and is one of three rooms on the east side which, when brought together by the removal of the intervening fusuma, can become a large, formal Audience Hall for the one-time prince abbot.
The last room has a slightly raised platform (jodan) on which the abbot would sit. The room’s decorations of plum and bamboo were undertaken by Kano Noanobu in cooperation with Kano Nobumasa. The tokonoma by Noanobu features a painting of a Chinese poet looking at a waterfall, and adjacent is a chigaidana (staggered shelf), both of which are on the north wall of the room. To the left of the chigaidana on the west wall are doors with red tassels which open to a small room to the rear, the tassels symbolizing the doors behind which guards would have been stationed were this a secular building.
The garden of the Hojo (Abbot’s Quarters).
The other rooms are also named for the paintings on their fusuma, and these rooms, facing to the north and west, are usually seen as one leaves the Sho Hojo at the end of the visit. The first room on the northeast side of the building is the Ura-jodan-no-ma (Behind the Upper Room or the Prince’s Room), where the prince abbot took the ton-sure on becoming the superior of the temple. It has a raised tatami platform as a seat for the prince abbot, and its fusuma are decorated with pine trees on gold.
The next room to the west is the Chrysanthemum Room (Kiku-no-ma), where the paintings of the sparrows by Kano Nobumasa are so life-like that it is said they appear to be flying out of the picture. The Heron Room (Sagi-no-ma), also by Nobumasa, is the third room on the north side, and its rear fusuma depict herons while the side fusuma show willow trees in winter.
Two rooms on the west side complete the building. The one in the northwest corner is the Willow Room (Yanagi-no-ma), where the trees are shown in winter. The last room in the southwest corner is the Plum Tree Room (Ume-no-ma), which also depicts a wintery scene with the branches of willow and plum trees covered with snow. These two rooms were decorated by Kano Sadonobu. When going from the Dai Hojo to the Sho Hojo, there is a wooden door that has a faded painting of a cat, famed for the fact that the cat seems to be looking at the viewer no matter from what spot or angle it is regarded. Past the door, a covered bridge leads to the Sho Hojo.
SHO HOJO The Sho Hojo to the northeast is 79 feet (24 m) wide by 69 feet (20.7 m) deep, and is divided into six rooms by fusuma (sliding screens). All the rooms are surrounded by corridors encircling the exterior of the building. The first two rooms occupy the western side of the building, the white fusuma of the first room (Rante-no-ma) being decorated with blossoming trees while the second room, the Bird and Flower Room (Kacho-no-ma), by Nobumasa, has small pine trees on the fusuma with birds flying to the trees. The third room on the north side is an interior room, the Hermits’ Room (Rakan-noma) with a grouping of 16 rakan (disciples of Shaka) in front of a building on its white fusuma, also the work of Nobumasa.
Turning the corner to the third (east) side of the building, one arrives at the double room which occupies the entire east side. This is the Audience Room (Jodan-no-ma), with its raised platform for the prince abbot’s seat. The rear wall behind the platform has a tokonoma with mountains and pines under snow as well as a set of chigaidana (staggered shelves). The wall at the inner side of the platform has doors to a small inner room with large tassels while the outer wall has a built-in desk in shoin style. The ceiling above the platform has a raised, coffered ceiling. The adjacent room, facing the platform, has a Chinese scene with mountains, a lake and houses. Both rooms are by Naonobu and Sadanobu. Turning the corner to the fourth (south) side is an interior room, the Snow Covered Landscape Room (Sansui-no-ma), decorated by Sadanobu. The rear fusuma depicts mountains and a house while the fusuma on the right features a boat and a lake. The fusuma on the left side shows a mountain and a house. All the landscapes are executed in black and white.
A return is made to the Dai Hojo, passing by the 4th through the 11th rooms (as described above). Both the Dai Hojo and Sho Hojo open on to a garden designed by Kobori Enshu in 1644. It includes a dwarf pine that was planted by Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu himself. A little stone bridge that crosses a small gourd-shaped pond is also of note.
SEISHI-DO East of the Mie-do on the hillside is the Seishi-do. A long flight of stone steps leads up the hillside to the east from the Mie-do, and at the top of the steps and through a gate on the left is the Seishi-do on the site where Honen lived and died. Here, after Honen’s death, his followers built the Kaisan-do (Founder’s Hall), and here the carved wooden image of Honen stood until 1638, when it was moved to the present Miedo. At that time, the image of the Bodhisattva Seishi was placed in the former Kaisan-do since this Bodhisattva is considered to be a previous incarnation of Honen. The Seishi-do was erected in 1530 and thus it is the oldest building of the Chion-in. It is in two parts, the front hall for worshippers and the back half holding the image of Seishi.
MAUSOLEUM A further flight of steps leads from the Seishi-do to the Mausoleum, which was erected in 1613. The original memorial tomb was created in 1234, but this reconstruction shows the style of the Momoyama period in which it was rebuilt. Two huge bronze lanterns stand before the mausoleum while a small Haiden (Worship Hall) is in front of a Kara-mon (Chinese-style) gate, then there is a grill, and finally the tomb of Honen. (The hillside above the mausoleum holds the general cemetery for the temple.)
AMIDA HALL (AMIDA-DO OR BUTSUDEN) To the west of the Mie-do, and connected to it by a roofed corridor, is the Amida-do, the hall dedicated to Amida, the primary Buddha of the Chion-in. It is at a right angle from the Mie-do due to the terrain of the precinct. (This hall is just above the San-mon entry gate and the Re-to pagoda.) From the earliest period of Chion-in’s history there has been a special building devoted to Amida, the original hall being constructed by Honen’s disciples on the hill to the east near the site of Honen’s hermitage. In 1710, it was moved to its present location, and then in 1912, on the 700th anniversary of Honen’s death in 1212, a new Amida Hall was created through the gifts of the faithful. On the front of the hall is a tablet which reads “Otani-dera” (Otani Temple, so-called from the original name of the area and the temple), which was inscribed and given as a gift by the Emperor Gonara (1526–57). The plaque was mounted on the earlier as well as the present building.
The double-tiled roof hall (a hall which represents the Pure Land of Amida) faces to the east so that the worshippers when praying to Amida are facing toward Amida’s Western Paradise. The main object of veneration is a 9 foot (2.7 meter) tall gilt image of Amida. Inside this Amida image is a tiny Amida which was created by Priest Kwan-in and which Honen held to his bosom on his death bed. The gold and black contrast that is found in the Mie-do is further carried out in the highly decorated interior of the Amida-do. On the matted floor at the front of the worship area are drums for use during services.
RE-TO (MEMORIAL PAGODA) Just south of the Amida-do is the pagoda to the 7.5 million spirits. A two-story pagoda with vermilion wooden fabric and white walls, it holds an image of Amida on its main, raised floor. Beneath it is a charnel room that is connected with the Amida-do by an underground passageway.
KYO-ZO (SUTRA HALL) Southeast of the Mie-do toward the hillside is the two-story Kyo-zo (Sutra Hall) built by order of Tokugawa Hidetada in 1616. A mixture of Chinese and Japanese architectural elements, it is topped with a ball that caps the square, pyramidal tiled roof. The lower story of the Kyo-zo has an open “corridor” created by the freestanding pillars of the structure. The building contains the complete set of the Buddhist Issai-kyo Sutra, which was printed at the time of the Sung dynasty in China in the 12th century. The 5,600 volumes are in an octagonal revolving bookcase, which is so well constructed that it will turn upon the slightest touch. A common belief held that revolving the bookcase three times would grant merit to the individual turning the books, which in effect meant their complete reading. The lower shelf of the case has eight deities carved in wood as well as the statue of Fu Hsi and his two sons, P’u Chien and P’u Ch’eng. Fu Hsi was given credit for having invented the form of the revolving sutra case in China.
TAIHEI-TEI (PEACE HALL) Opposite the front of the Mie-do and to the right of the head of the steps of the San-mon entrance to the main temple grounds is the Taihei-tei, the Peace Hall. Rebuilt in concrete after a 1958 fire, the building serves as a rest hall, tea room and religious articles sales counter for the benefit of visitors. Within is a cauldron 11 feet (3.3 m) in diameter by 3.5 feet (1.1 m) in height that was cast in 1604 by the famous cauldron maker Onishi Yojiro. (Public restrooms are to the west of this building.)
DAI SHO OR SHORO (GREAT BELL) The temple bell, the largest bronze bell in Japan, lies to the southeast of the Taihei-tei on a rise of a number of steps. Cast in the 1630s, it stands 10.8 feet (3.3 m) high, is 9 feet (2.7 m) in diameter, 11.4 inches (28 cm) thick and weighs 74 tons. The wooden belfry in the Tenjikuyo (Indian) style was created in 1678. It takes 17 men to pull back the clapper in order to ring the bell. On the 19th and 25th of each month it booms forth in commemoration of the death of Honen on that day in April 1212. It is rung on special occasions as well, but each year between April 10th and 25th it sounds majestically in the annual celebration of Gyoki-e in memory of Honen. It is known throughout Japan, since on New Year’s Eve it is tolled 108 times to ring out the 108 sins to which mankind is susceptible—an event that is televised throughout the nation.
HOMOTSU-KAN (TREASURY) The Treasury is a modern fireproof concrete building opposite the Mie-do. Among its many treasures are a noted 13th century painting (Raigo) in colors of Amida’s descent from his paradise, surrounded by his 25 Bodhisattvas, to receive the souls of the dying.
There is also the Honen Shonin Eden from 1299–1301, a picture scroll by Tosa Yoshimitsu of Honen’s life in 48 scrolls; and a standing statue of Zendo from the T’ang period (618–907) in China, who was one of the important figures in Jodo (Amida) beliefs in China. Legend holds that when Zendo said his prayers to Amida, a halo of light would issue from his mouth. There are, of course, numerous other treasures as well.
CHION-IN CEREMONIES
April 19–25 —Gyoki-e: The most important service of the year is the Gyoki-e since it commemorates the death of Honen in 1212. There are daily processions and services by 200 priests dressed in rich brocades.
The bronze bell at Chion-in is the largest in Japan.
November 1–10 —Viewing of the temple treasures: From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. the temple treasures are on display in the Homo-tsukan (Treasury). Viewing fee.
December 31 —Omisoke (Last Grand Day): At midnight the temple bell is tolled 108 times symbolizing the 108 sins to which mankind is liable. In a sense, this is a ceremony of absolution that permits believers to begin the new year afresh and free of sin.
GETTING THERE
The beginning of the tour at Yasaka Pagoda can be reached from the bus stop at Higashioji-dori and Kiyomizu-michi. Buses 202, 203, 206 or 207, which run along Higashi-oji-dori, serve the bus stop. This is the same bus stop used in Tour 1 and portions of this tour could be easily combined with parts of Tour 1.
Chion-in, perhaps the highlight of this tour, is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free entry. However, the Hojo and Sho Hojo are only open in the autumn, for a modest fee. On leaving the temple, buses 11, 12, 18, 203, 206 and 207 stop at the Chion-in-mae bus stop on Higashi-oji-dori just to the west of the temple’s San-mon Gate. These can take you to the south or the north of the city.
