is a
Zen Buddhist temple in
Naha, Okinawa
is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is ...
. Established in 1367, the temple served as a major national temple for the Okinawan kingdom of
Chūzan
was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more so ...
and the unified
Ryūkyū Kingdom
The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English language, English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' wa ...
which would follow. It is well known for its associations with Christian missionary
Bernard Jean Bettelheim
Bernát Bettelheim or ''Bernard Jean Bettelheim'' ( ja, 伯徳令 ''or'' ; 1811, Pozsony, Hungary - February 9, 1870 Brookfield, Missouri, USA) was a Hungarian-born Christian missionary to Okinawa, the first Protestant missionary to be active ther ...
and with the 1853-1854 visits by
Commodore Matthew Perry
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the op ...
to Okinawa.
History
The temple was first founded in 1367, by a Japanese monk from
Satsuma province
was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation is .
History
Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Durin ...
by the name of
Raijū and with the patronage of the royal government of Chūzan, as a companion to the
Naminoue Shrine
is a Shinto shrine in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, the ''ichinomiya'' (primary shrine) of the prefecture. It sits atop a high bluff, overlooking Naminoue Beach and the ocean.
Originally a sacred space of the native Ryukyuan religion, du ...
already located on the bluff, overlooking
the beach and ocean.
Loochoo Naval Mission
![Dr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Dr._Bettelheim%27s_residence%2C_Loochoo_Naval_Mission.png)
Centuries later, in 1846, the temple was taken over by the doctor and Christian missionary Bernard Jean Bettelheim, who occupied it for seven years, driving off Buddhist worshipers and the temple's rightful occupants. Working as a lay medical missionary under the auspices of the
Loochoo Naval Mission
The Loochoo Naval Mission (1843-1861) was a Church of England mission society to provide Christian outreach to outlying Ryukyu Islands, today part of Japan but a sovereign country during those times.
The work of the mission was significant both in ...
, when Bettelheim's ship, HMS Starling, arrived at Naha, the Okinawan port master protested that he should not be allowed to disembark. HMS Starling's captain wished to honor this request, but Bettelheim made his way ashore anyway and ended up being offered shelter in the Gokoku-ji for that night; he would not leave for seven years. Turning away worshipers and monks alike by suggesting that they were trying to observe his wife, Bettelheim boarded up the temple's sanctuary and threw out much of what he called "the heathen furniture of idolatry".
The Ryukyuan royal government soon deemed it necessary to keep an eye on Bettelheim, who had become more than a nuisance, and a serious burden upon the local community. A guard post was erected just outside the temple grounds, and a detachment of men was assigned to both watch over the temple and to accompany the missionary as he traveled about the area.
Visit of Commodore Perry
When the American Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in 1853, Bettelheim served for a time as translator and intermediary. Over the missionary's objections, the Commodore established an American base within the grounds of the Gokoku-ji, including a fenced-off area for grazing cattle, something which drew strong protest from the Ryukyuan authorities. When Perry departed from his second visit to Okinawa a year later (having left and returned once in the interim), he was offered, among other gifts from the Kingdom to the United States, a temple bell from Shuri. This was found to be imperfect, so a bell from the Gokoku-ji was offered instead. This bell had been forged in 1456, during the reign of
Shō Taikyū
was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the sixth ruler of the first Shō dynasty. His reign saw the construction of many Buddhist temples, the casting of the , and the battle between the lords Gosamaru and Amawari.
Life and reign
Shō Taikyū was t ...
. The inscription upon it reads in part "May the sound of this bell shatter illusory dreams, perfect the souls of mankind, and enable the King and his subjects to live so virtuously that barbarians will find no occasion to invade the Kingdom." It being part of the Bettelheim residence, which had been desecrated and not used as a place of worship for roughly eight years, the Ryukyuan authorities were willing to part with it; Bettelheim likewise expressed elation in his diary at seeing the heathen temple further dismantled. Intended by Perry to be installed in or near the
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...
then under construction, the associated committee turned down the suggestion, and the bell was instead donated to the
U.S. Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
at
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, where it was kept and rung in celebration of Navy victories in the annual
Army–Navy football game, until it was finally returned to Japan in 1987.
Bettelheim left Okinawa with Perry, restoring the temple to its proper occupants and purpose. In 1871, a Ryukyuan ship was blown off course by a storm and landed on
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
where, following a conflict with local
Paiwan aborigines, a number of Okinawans were killed. This became an
international incident {{Refimprove, date=December 2011
An international incident (or diplomatic incident) is a seemingly relatively small or limited action, incident or clash that results in a wider dispute between two or more nation-states. International incidents can ...
as Japan and China disagreed over the sovereignty of both Okinawa and Taiwan, and thus over whether China owed any form of restitution to Japan. The remains of the Okinawans killed were said to have been recovered and were buried at the Gokoku-ji, a grand ritual performed for them, who were said to have died in the service of the State.
Destroyed in the 1945
battle of Okinawa
The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...
, the temple was rebuilt shortly afterwards and remains operational today. A stone erected in 1926 as a memorial to Dr. Bettelheim
[Memorial Stone to Bettelheim Unveiled at Gokokuji, Loo Choo]
" ''Japan Advertiser''. 25 May 1926. University of Hawaii Library, Treasures of Okinawa: Frank Hawley Collection. Accessed 22 July 2008. also remains or has been reconstructed.
See also
* For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the
Glossary of Japanese Buddhism.
References
*Kerr, George H. (2000). ''Okinawa: the History of an Island People''. (revised ed.) Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokoku-Ji (Okinawa).
Buildings and structures completed in 1367
Buddhist temples in Okinawa Prefecture
1367 establishments in Asia
1945 disestablishments in Asia
1360s establishments in Japan
Ryukyu Kingdom
Kōyasan Shingon temples
Buddhism in the Ryukyu Islands
Jingū-ji