is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

of the

Shingon file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks suc ...

sect in the city of

Ashikaga Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

Tochigi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...

, in northern

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The ''

honzon , sometimes referred to as a Gohonzon ( or ), is the enshrined main image or principal deity in Japanese Buddhism. The buddha, bodhisattva, or mandala image is located in either a temple or a household butsudan. The image can be either a statue o ...

'' of the temple is a statue of Dainichi Nyōrai, leading to the temple's nickname of Dainichisama,. The temple is built on the ruins of the ancestral fortified residence of the

Ashikaga clan The was a prominent Japanese samurai clan which established the Muromachi shogunate and ruled Japan from roughly 1333 to 1573. The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originally from the town of Ashikaga in ...

who ruled Japan during the

Muromachi shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

, and its grounds are a National Historic Site Buddha statue with votive offerings

History

Minamoto no Yoshiyasu Minamoto no Yoshiyasu, also called Ashikaga Yoshiyasu (源義康/足利義康, 1127 – 1157) was a samurai of the late Heian period. He is known for his participation in the Hōgen rebellion in 1156. He is best known as the founder of the Ashika ...

was awarded a ''

shōen A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private, ...

'' (estate) in this area of

Shimotsuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Hitachi Province, ...

in the middle of the 12th century, and constructed a fortified residence. His third son took the name of "Ashikaga" from the place where this estate was located, and became

Ashikaga Yoshikane was a Japanese samurai military commander, feudal lord in the late Heian and early Kamakura period of Japan's history.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ashikaga Yoshikane" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum ...

. He served as a vassal of

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

in the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...

and eventually became Yoritomo's brother-in-law. He was awarded with the

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Shimotsuke Province in 1185. Ten years later, in 1195, he retired, becoming a Buddhist monk and taking the name Gishō (義称). The following year he installed a statue of Dainichi Nyōrai in his residence, transforming it into a Buddhist temple named Banna-ji. This temple was greatly expanded by his third son,

Ashikaga Yoshiuji Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

, in 1234. Yoshiuji is also responsible for building the current

Hondō 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 t ...

of the temple. The temple was a subsidiary of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

for the remainder of the

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 ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

and Nanboku-cho period. However, by the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, the power and influence of the Ashikaga clan had waned considerably, and the temple declined into near ruin.

Present situation

The 40,000 square meter precincts of the temple gained protection as a National Historic Site in March 1922, and the main hall was designated as an

Important Cultural Property of Japan An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and judged to be o ...

in 1950. The temple still retains many remnants of its origins as a fortified

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

residence, including moats and earthen ramparts, along with four fortified gates, which date to the 1500s. These features led the temple to be included as one of

Japan's Top 100 Castles The castles in were chosen based on their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2006. In 2017, Japanese Castle Association created an additional finest 100 castles list as Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles. Hokkaidō ...

in 2006 by the Japan Castle Foundation. The status of the main hall was raised to that of a

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

in 2013.

Cultural Properties

Banna-ji Hondō (National Treasure)

The main hall of Banna-ji was originally constructed in 1234 by Ashikaga Yoshiuji. This structure burned down after being struck by lightning, and was rebuilt in 1299 by Ashikaga Sadauji, the father of the famous

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 Muromac ...

, founder of the Muromachi shogunate. It is a 5 x 5

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

hall with a ''irimoya'' style roof. Although the temple itself is a esoteric Buddhist temple, many of the architectural features of this building are based on the styles of

Japanese Zen :''See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan'' Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen, Zen Buddhism, an orig ...

. The building was extensively remodeled around 1407 to 1432. It was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1908, and upgraded to a

in 2013.

Important Cultural Properties

* Kyōdō, early Edo period, *

Bonshō , also known as or are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Rather than containing a clapper, are struck from the outside, using either a handheld mall ...

, Kamakura period,

Gallery

File:Large gong at Ashikaga Banna-ji.jpg, Large gong at Ashikaga Banna-ji 鑁阿寺足利 - panoramio (3).jpg, Hondō BannajiShoro.JPG, Shoro containing Bonshō Bannaji Kyodo.JPG, Kyōdō Ashikaga Bannaji Taho Pagoda 1.JPG, Tahoto Pagoda

External links

Banna-ji website (in Japanese)
* https://web.archive.org/web/20160403214556/http://www.jcastle.info/castle/profile/94-Ashikagashi-Yakata

* http://www.jref.com/articles/the-100-top-castles-of-japan.267/

References

{{Authority control Castles in Tochigi Prefecture Buddhist temples in Tochigi Prefecture 100 Fine Castles of Japan Ashikaga, Tochigi Shimotsuke Province Shingon temples 1190s establishments in Japan National Treasures of Japan