was a former
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monastery in northeastern
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
,
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 ...
, endowed by Imperial consort Taiken-mon'in in fulfillment of a sacred vow. It is known as one of the ,
[Adophson, Mikael S. (2000)]
''The Gates of Power: Monks, Courtiers, and Warriors in Premodern Japan,'' p. 388 n99.
/ref> which encompass monastery complexes which enjoyed extravagant Imperial patronage from their inception. They are sometimes identified as the "Superlative Temples" or the "''Shō'' Temples" because of the middle syllable of the temple name.
History
This temple and the other Rokushō-ji is a collective name for six related Buddhist temples in northeastern Kyoto, Japan.
Six independently constructed and endowed temples have come to be known collectively as the "Six Victorious Temples",Adophson, Mikael S. (2000) ''The Gates of Pow ...
establishments had a particular function within the Imperial . The Rokushō-ji were "sacred vow temples" (''gogan-ji'') built by imperial command following a precedent established by Emperor Shirakawa's
Hosshō-ji.kuge
The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakur ...
'' families and to justify the use of public taxes for the benefit of members of the imperial-house, the religious intent giving support to the political interest.[Hall, John Whitney '' et al.'' (1974). ''Medieval Japan: Essays in Institutional History,'' p. 21.]
The Rokushō-ji were also called the six "Superiority Temples;" and each were uniquely dedicated to an aspect of esoteric Buddhist ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
, as in
* the "Superiority of Buddhist Law"[Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359">Kitabatake_Chikafusa.html" ;"title="Kitabatake Chikafusa">Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359 ''Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley),'' p. 200.] --
: , founded by Emperor Shirakawa in 1077.[Takagaki, Cary Shinji. (1999)]
"The Rokusho-ji, the six superiority temples of Heian Japan," p. 2.
/ref>
* the "Superiority of Worship"Emperor Horikawa
was the 73rd emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 堀河天皇 (73)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.
Horikawa's reign spanned the years from 1087 through 1107.
Biography
Before his ascension to the ...
(Shirakawa's son) in 1102.Emperor Toba
was the 74th Emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 鳥羽天皇 (74)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.
Toba's reign spanned the years from 1107 through 1123.
Genealogy
Before his ascension to the Chr ...
(Shirakawa's grandson) in 1118.Emperor Sutoku
was the 75th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 崇徳天皇 (75)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.
Sutoku's reign spanned the years from 1123 through 1142.
Genealogy
Before his ascension to the Chry ...
(Shirakawa's great-grandson) in 1139.Emperor Konoe
was the 76th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 近衛天皇 (76)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.
Konoe's reign spanned the years from 1142 through 1155.
Genealogy
Before his ascension to the Chr ...
(Shirakawa's great-grandson) in 1149.
See also
* List of Buddhist temples in Kyoto
There are 1,600 Buddhist temples scattered throughout the prefecture of Kyoto.
Nara period in Kyoto (710-794)
* , also known as or .
* Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
Heian period in Kyoto (794-1229)
* , also known as the .Ponsonby-Fane, p. 11 ...
* For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual (or brand-new) 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 galle ...
.
Notes
References
* Hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
, John Whitney and Jeffrey P. Mass, eds. (1974)
''Medieval Japan: Essays in Institutional History.''
New Haven: Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Universi ...
OCLC 50635949
eprinted by Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1988.
OCLC 18576991
* Iwao, Seiichi, Teizō Iyanaga, Susumu Ishii, Shōichirō Yoshida, ''et al.'' (2002)
''Dictionnaire historique du Japon.''
Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose.
OCLC 51096469
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1956)
''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869.''
Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 36644
* Takagaki, Cary Shinji. (1999)
"The Rokusho-ji, the six superiority temples of Heian Japan."
(University of Toronto PhD thesis, http://hdl.handle.net/1807/13266). Ottawa: National Library of Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...
, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">Isaac Titsingh">Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
.
* Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980).
, 1359">Kitabatake_Chikafusa.html" ;"title="Kitabatake Chikafusa">Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359 ''Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley).'' New York: Columbia University Press.