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Zuisenji
is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's in Kamakura, Japan.Kamiya (2008:98-102) During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura (the ''Kantō kubō''): four of the five ''kubō'' are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public and first ''kubō'' Ashikaga Motouji's is also known by the name .Yasuda (1990:26) Designed by prominent Zen religious figure, poet and Zen garden designer Musō Soseki (also known as Musō Kokushi), the temple lies on top of an isolated hill and is famous for both its garden and its Zen rock garden. The beauty and the quantity of its plants have gained it since antiquity the nickname . The main object of worship is Jizō Bosatsu.Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei Zuisen-ji is an Historic Site and contains numerous objects classified as Important Cultural Properties and Places of Scenic Beauty. History Musō Soseki was not only the temple's founding priest, but also its main designer.Harada (2007:5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zen Garden
The or Japanese rock garden, often called a zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and uses gravel or sand that is raked to represent ripples in water. Zen gardens are commonly found at temples or monasteries. A zen garden is usually relatively small, surrounded by a wall or buildings, and is usually meant to be seen while seated from a single viewpoint outside the garden, such as the porch of the ''hojo'', the residence of the chief monk of the temple or monastery. Many, with gravel rather than grass, are only stepped into for maintenance. Classical zen gardens were created at temples of Zen Buddhism in Kyoto during the Muromachi period. They were intended to imitate the essence of nature, not its actual appearance, and to serve as an aid for meditation. History Early Japanese rock gardens Stone gardens existed in Japan at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)
Main hall is the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple compound ('' garan'') which enshrines the main object of veneration.Kōjien Japanese dictionary Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English term translates several Japanese words, among them ''butsuden'', ''butsu-dō'', ''kondō'', ''konpon-chūdō'', and ''hondō''. ''Hondō'' is its exact Japanese equivalent, while the others are more specialized words used by particular sects or for edifices having a particular structure. Kondō (Asuka and Nara periods) The term started to be used during the Asuka and Nara periods. A ''kondō'' is the centerpiece of an ancient Buddhist temple's ''garan'' in Japan. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it may derive from the perceived preciousness of its content, or from the fact that the interior was lined with gold. This is the name used by the oldest temples in the country.Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten A ''kondō'', for example Hōryū-ji's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamanashi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the northeast, Nagano Prefecture to the northwest, Shizuoka Prefecture to the southwest, Kanagawa Prefecture to the southeast, and Tokyo to the east. Kōfu is the capital and largest city of Yamanashi Prefecture, with other major cities including Kai, Minamiarupusu, and Fuefuki. Yamanashi Prefecture is one of only eight landlocked prefectures, and the majority of the population lives in the central Kōfu Basin surrounded by the Akaishi Mountains, with 27% of its total land area being designated as Natural Parks. Yamanashi Prefecture is home to many of the highest mountains in Japan, and Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan and cultural icon of the country, is partially located in Yamanashi Prefecture on the border with Shizuoka Prefect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinpen Kamakurashi
The is an Edo period compendium of topographic, geographic and demographic data concerning the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and its vicinities. Consisting of eight volumesTakahashi (2005:20) and commissioned in 1685 by Tokugawa Mitsukuni to three vassals, it contains for example information about "Kamakura's Seven Entrances", "Kamakura's Ten Bridges" and "Kamakura's Ten Wells".Kusumoto (2002:67) It includes illustrations, maps, and information about temples, ruins and place names etymologies not only about Kamakura, but also about Enoshima, Shichirigahama, Hayama and Kanazawa.Shirai (1976:167) The book created and popularized many of these "numbered" names, which were picked up by many subsequent tourist guides and became part of Kamakura's image. Each volume contains a day's worth of walking and is a real and effective guide to sightseeing. This makes the book a precious source of information to historians. It is also the source of at least one Kamakura canard: it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Mitsukuni
, also known as , was a Japanese daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa (who in turn was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu) and succeeded him, becoming the second daimyo of the Mito Domain. Biography Tokugawa Mitsukuni was born on July 11, 1628, in Mito Domain, Hitachi Province as the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa, the first daimyo of Mito Domain. His father was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. At the age of six, his elder brother Yorishige became valetudinarian, and Mitsukuni was chosen to succeed his father. At the age of nine, he underwent ''genpuku'' (coming-of-age ceremony). He was responsible for assembling the Mitogaku scholars to compile a huge Japanese history, ''Dai Nihonshi''. In it, Japan was depicted as a nation under the Emperor, analogous to that in Chinese dynasties. This helped the rise of nationalism in the late shogu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gidō Shūshin
; 1325–1388), Japanese luminary of the Zen Rinzai sect, was a master of poetry and prose in Chinese (Literature of the Five Mountains). Gidō's own diary () relates how as a child he discovered and treasured the Zen classic ''Rinzairoku'' in his father's library. He was born in Tosa on the island of Shikoku and began formal study of Confucian and Buddhist literature. His religious proclivities were encouraged when he witnessed the violent death of a clan member. Like many others he took his first vows on Mt. Hiei near the capital. Gidō's life was changed with a visit to the prominent Zen master Musō Soseki (1275–1351) in 1341. He would become the master's attendant after his own unsuccessful pilgrimage to China. He would become a principal disciple. Gidō was born with eyesight difficulties. His choice of a literary name was ''Kūgedojin'' or Holy Man who sees Flowers in the Sky. Kūge was from Sanscrit ''khpuspa'' and indicated illusory sense perceptions. Gidō would play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Literature Of The Five Mountains
The Gozan Bungaku or literature of the Five Mountains (Japanese: 五山文学) is the literature produced by the principal Zen (禅) monastic centers of in Kyoto and Kamakura, Japan. The term also refers to five Zen centers in China in Hangzhou and Ningpo that inspired zen in Japan, while the term "mountain" refers to Buddhist monastery. Five Mountains literature or ''gozan bungaku'' (五山文學) is used collectively to refer to the poetry and prose in Chinese produced by Japanese monks who were active mostly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Notable writers of the genre include Musō Soseki, Ikkyū Sōjun, Zekkai Chūsin ( 絶海中津), Sesson Yūbai, Gidō Shūshin, Jakushitsu Genkō, Chūgan Engetsu and Kokan Shiren. Also included are works by Chinese monks residing in Japan such as Seisetsu Shōchō (Qingzhuo Zhengcheng) and Jikusen Bonsen ( 竺仙梵僊, Zhuxian Fanxian) History The literary movement has its origin in the 13th century, influenced by two Chinese monk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Mountain System
The system, more commonly called simply ''Five Mountain System'', was a network of state-sponsored Chan (Zen) Buddhist temples created in China during the Southern Song (1127–1279). The term "mountain" in this context means "temple" or "monastery", and was adopted because many monasteries were built on isolated mountains. The system originated in India and was later adopted also in Japan during the late Kamakura period (1185–1333). In Japan, the ten existing "Five Mountain" temples (five in Kyoto and five in Kamakura, Kanagawa) were both protected and controlled by the shogunate.Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten, ''Gozan''. In time, they became a sort of governmental bureaucracy that helped the Ashikaga shogunate stabilize the country during the turbulent Nanboku-chō period. Below the ten ''Gozan'' temples there were ten so-called temples, followed by another network called . The terms ''Gozan'' and Five Mountain System are used both for the ten temples at the top and for the Five M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamakura Gozan
The system, more commonly called simply ''Five Mountain System'', was a network of state-sponsored Chan (Zen) Buddhist temples created in China during the Southern Song (1127–1279). The term "mountain" in this context means "temple" or "monastery", and was adopted because many monasteries were built on isolated mountains. The system originated in India and was later adopted also in Japan during the late Kamakura period (1185–1333). In Japan, the ten existing "Five Mountain" temples (five in Kyoto and five in Kamakura, Kanagawa) were both protected and controlled by the shogunate.Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten, ''Gozan''. In time, they became a sort of governmental bureaucracy that helped the Ashikaga shogunate stabilize the country during the turbulent Nanboku-chō period. Below the ten ''Gozan'' temples there were ten so-called temples, followed by another network called . The terms ''Gozan'' and Five Mountain System are used both for the ten temples at the top and for the Five M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358. He was a male-line descendant of the samurai of the (Minamoto) Seiwa Genji line (meaning they were descendants of Emperor Seiwa) who had settled in the Ashikaga area of Shimotsuke Province, in present-day Tochigi Prefecture. According to Zen master and intellectual Musō Soseki, who enjoyed his favor and collaborated with him, Takauji had three qualities. First, he kept his cool in battle and was not afraid of death.Matsuo (1997:105) Second, he was merciful and tolerant. Third, he was very generous with those below him. Life His childhood name was Matagorō (又太郎). Takauji was a general of the Kamakura shogunate sent to Kyoto in 1333 to put down the Genkō War which had started i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kannon
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She was first given the appellation of "Goddess of Mercy" or "Mercy Goddess" by Jesuit missionaries in China. Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World." On the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, Guanyin's attainment of Buddhahood is celebrated. Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus, and then sent to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī. Guanyin is often referred to as the "most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity" with miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her, as is mentioned in the ''Pumen chapter'' of ''Lotus Sutra'' and ''Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra''. Several large temples in East Asia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hōjō Takatoki
was the last '' Tokusō'' and ruling Shikken (regent) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate; the rulers that followed were his puppets. A member of the Hōjō clan, he was the son of Hōjō Sadatoki, and was preceded as ''shikken'' by Hōjō Morotoki. Biography Takatoki became regent at the age of eight, and thus actual power was held for a time by Adachi Tokiaki, his grandmother, and Nagasaki Takasuke, a minister assigned to him. Takatoki fell ill in 1326, at the age of twenty-three, some time after having taken power himself; the shogunate was under attack at this time, and would fall within a few years. Takatoki retired and became a Buddhist monk, though he still held some influence at shogunate. That same year, the shogunal government asked Emperor Go-Daigo to abdicate in favor of his successor, in order to continue the tradition of cloistered rule and the alternation of branches of the Imperial family within the line of succession; Go-Daigo chose to maintain rule, and the ensuin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
