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 ...

in the Hyakusaiji neighborhood of the city of Higashiōmi, Shiga Prefecture,

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 ...

. It belongs to the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

school of Japanese Buddhism, and together with

Kongōrin-ji , also known as (from its location) is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect located in the town of Aishō, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The ''honzon'' of the temple is Kannon Bosatsu. The temple was founded in the early Heian period and together ...

and Saimyō-ji is regard as one of the "Three Great Temples" east of Lake Biwa. It was designated a National Historic Site in 2008.

History

Hyakusai-ji is located on the western flank of the

Suzuka Mountains are a mountain range running through Mie Prefecture and along the borders of Gifu and Shiga prefectures in central Japan. The tallest peak in the range is Mount Oike at . In spite of its height, Mount Oike is not the most visited mountain; that ...

, east of Lake Biwa. According to the temple,

Prince Shotoku A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

erected this temple in 606 AD after his tutor from

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

, the monk

Hyeja Hyeja (Japanese: ) was the first priest who came across the sea from Goguryeo to Japan in the Asuka period, 595. He was a tutor of Buddhism to Shōtoku Taishi. He propagated Buddhism in Japan. He lived at Hōkō-ji (法興寺 Hōkō temple), cur ...

, found a

cedar tree Cedar is part of the English common name of many trees and other plants, particularly those of the genus ''Cedrus''. Some botanical authorities consider the Old-World ''Cedrus'' the only Cedrus#Nomenclature, "true cedars". Many other species wor ...

in the mountains glowing with a mysterious light. The prince carved an image of an eleven-faced Kannon Bosatsu directly into the living wood of the tree and had a hall built around it. Although Hyeja was from Goguryeo, the temple is named after the Korean kingdom of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

as the layout of the temple was patterned after the temple of Ryuun-ji in that kingdom. However, the first appearance of the temple in the historical documentation is from 1089 AD, so it is uncertain to what extent the temple legend of its connection with Prince Shotoku reflects actual historic facts. During the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

, as with many temples in Ōmi Province, it came under the influence of Enryaku-ji and Hyakusai-ji became a temple of the Tendai sect. Through 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 ...

, the temple was a huge establishment, with over 1000 chapels spread across numerous mountain valleys. The temple suffered from a severe fire in 1498, and only a few years later, in 1503, it was almost razed completely during a conflict between the Ōmi ''

shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

Rokkaku Takayori Rokkaku ( ja, 六角, "six corners" or "hexagon") can refer to several things: * Rokkaku Chuu (市立六角中学校), a fictional school that appears on ''The Prince of Tennis'' *Rokkaku clan The was a Japanese samurai clan Papinot, Jacques Ed ...

and the '' shugodai'' Iba Tadataka. These two fires destroyed all of the ancient buildings and Buddhist statues, but also all of the temple's records and documents of its founding. The temple eventually recovered, and the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary

Luis Frois Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

commented about the temple's prosperity during a visit. In 1573, the temple was again the center of a conflict, this time between

Rokkaku Yoshikata was a samurai head of the Rokkaku clan_during_Japan's_Sengoku_period.html" ;"title="DF 53 of 80/nowiki>">DF 53 ... during Japan's Sengoku period">DF 53 of 80/nowiki>">DF 53 ... during Japan's Sengoku period. He was ''shugo'' (governor) and late ...

and

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

and its main hall was again destroyed. This hall was rebuilt in 1584 by Hori Hidemasa. In 1602, with the establishment of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, the temple was awarded a ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 54 ...

'' of 146 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'' for its upkeep. This was increased by another 100 ''koku'' in 1617 by

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

. From 1634 through 1650 most of the buildings of the temple were reconstructed by Ryosuke, a disciple and younger brother of the archpriest

Tenkai was a Japanese Tendai Buddhist monk of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. He achieved the rank of ''Daisōjō'', the highest rank of the priesthood. His Buddhist name was first , which he changed to Tenkai in 1590. Also known as , he ...

, with the assistance of Hikone Domain, and many of these structures survive to this day, including 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 ...

, which is a National Important Cultural Property. The temple is approximately ten minutes by car from

Yōkaichi Station is a passenger junction railway station located in the city of Higashiōmi, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is the main station in Higashiōmi city and one of the most important stations of Ohmi railway. Lines Yōkaichi Station is served by the Ohm ...

on the

Ohmi Railway is a Japanese private railway company which operates in Shiga Prefecture, and a member of the Seibu group since 1943. The company is named after the Ōmi Province, the former name of the present-day Shiga. The railway is nicknamed by local users ...

Gallery

Akamon gate of Hyakusai-ji temple , 百済寺赤門 - panoramio (2).jpg, Akamon Gate Hyakusai-ji 05.jpg, Fudō-dō Hyakusai-ji 24.jpg, Hondō 百濟寺 Hyakusaiji temple - panoramio (1).jpg, Gardens

References

External links

Higashiomi city home page

Shiga-Biwako Visitor's Guide
{{Buddhist temples in Japan Buddhist temples in Shiga Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Tendai temples Higashiōmi Ōmi Province 7th-century Buddhist temples Prince Shōtoku Buddhism in the Asuka period

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links