is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai-shū, located in Sakyō-ku of Kyoto-shi, in the prefecture of

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. It is specified as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...

by the Kyoto government.

History

It was built in 1012 under the reign of

Emperor Sanjō was the 67th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 三条天皇 (67)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Sanjō's reign spanned the years from 1011 through 1016. Biography Before his ascension to the Chry ...

in the imperial year

Chōwa was a after ''Kankō'' and before '' Kannin.'' This period spanned the years from December 1012 through April 1017. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1012 : The era name was changed to mark Emperor Sanjō's accession in the ...

2. Its original purpose was to serve as temple quarters for priests from the nearby Shōrin'in temple.

Structure

One of the rooms features a blood stained ceiling that was originally a floorpiece from

Fushimi Castle , also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residence. Fushimi Castle ...

. The blood is from

Torii Mototada was a Japanese Samurai and Daimyo of the Sengoku period through late Azuchi–Momoyama period, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Torii died at the siege of Fushimi where his garrison was greatly outnumbered and destroyed by the army of Ishida Mitsun ...

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

's retainer, and several other men who committed

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

when the castle they were garrisoned in as being overrun by

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the A ...

's forces during the

siege of Fushimi castle The siege of Fushimi was a crucial battle in the series leading up to the decisive Battle of Sekigahara which ended Japan's Sengoku period. Fushimi Castle was defended by a force loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern army, led by Torii Mototada. Kn ...

. This battle delayed the Ishida forces, which gave Tokugawa Ieyasu time to prepare for the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

and eventually unify Japan under 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 ...

. Thus, Torii Mototada's act of valor is honored through having the bloody floorpiece serve as a piece of Hōsen-in.

Visiting

At the entrance, along with paying the fee, guests are given a ticket that can be used for refreshments at the end. Guests are passed through a

washitsu A , meaning "Japanese-style room(s)", and frequently called a "tatami room" in English, is a Japanese room with traditional tatami flooring. also usually have sliding doors (), rather than hinged doors between rooms. They may have and, if the ...

featuring such sights including a five-leafed pine. This temple also features a garden called Hōrakuen, or "Treasure Paradise" At the end, the refreshments ticket can be exchanged for green tea and some light snacks.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosen-in Buddhist temples in Kyoto Tendai temples

History

Structure

Visiting

See also

External links