, usually known as Jufuku-ji, is a temple of the

Kenchō-ji Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the ...

branch of the

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...

sect and the oldest

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

temple in Kamakura,

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

, Japan. Ranked third among Kamakura's prestigious Five Mountains, it is number 24 among the pilgrimage temples and number 18 of the temples. Its main object of worship is

Shaka Nyorai Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

History

The temple was founded by

Hōjō Masako was a Japanese politician who exercised significant power in the early years of the Kamakura period, which was reflected by her contemporary sobriquet of the "nun shogun". She was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo, and mother of Minamoto no Yo ...

(1157–1225), a great historical figure familiar enough to the Japanese to appear on television ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...

'' dramas, in order to enshrine her husband

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 ...

(1147–1199), founder of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no ...

, who died falling from his horse in 1199. Having chosen Jufuku-ji's present site because it used to be Yoritomo's father's residence, she invited Buddhist priest

Myōan Eisai was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with founding the Rinzai school, the Japanese line of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism. In 1191, he introduced this Zen approach to Japan, following his trip to China from 1187 to 1191, during which he w ...

to be its founding priest. Eisai is important in the history of

because it was he who, after being ordained in China, introduced it to Japan. He is also known for introducing green tea to the country. Ostracized by 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 in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

because of the new ideas he had introduced there after coming back from China, Eisai agreed to come to Kamakura, where he was to stay and have great religious influence. Among the famous Zen masters that were active at Jufuku-ji are (1202–1280), who was invited to come here in 1257 by

Hōjō Tokiyori Hōjō Tokiyori (, June 29, 1227 – December 24, 1263) was the fifth shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. Early life He was born to warrior monk Hōjō Tokiuji and a daughter of Adachi Kagemori. Rule Tokiyori became shikken f ...

, and the Chinese Rankei Dōryū (chin. 蘭溪道隆, Lánxī Dàolóng, W.-G. Lan-hsi Tao-long; 1213–1278). Although very small now, in its heyday the temple used to have as many as 14 subtemples. Its Main Hall, which constitutes the bulk of its compound now, is closed to the public and can be seen only from the inner gate. Over the centuries, the Main Hall burned down many times so that, in spite of the temple's great age, the present one dates only to the period between 1751 and 1763. Inside it are three statues of Shakyamuni which are the main object of worship. There are also a statue of Eleven-Headed

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

and two enormous wooden

Deva Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...

or Niō, brought here from Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū at the time of the mandatory separation of

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

and Buddhism ( shinbutsu bunri), in 1872.

Graveyard

In the temple's vast graveyard behind the main hall, inside caves called yagura, are buried all the chief priests of the temple. Two ''yagura'' are dedicated to Hōjō Masako and her son

Minamoto no Sanetomo was the third ''shōgun'' of the Kamakura shogunate. He was the second son of the Kamakura shogunate founder, Minamoto no Yoritomo. His mother was Hōjō Masako and his older brother was second Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoriie. His childhood ...

, who was assassinated while still young by nephew Kugyō on the stairs of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Masako and Sanetomo's ashes are not actually there, though, because they were put in a temple, Chōshōjū-in, which no longer exists, and are therefore lost. Among the other graves can be found not only those of Japanese celebrities including ''

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or s ...

'' poet Takahama Kiyoshi and novelist Osaragi Jirō, but also those of some foreigners, among them Countess

Iso Mutsu Countess , born Gertrude Ethel Passingham, was a British writer. She married a Japanese nobleman and diplomat, came with him to Japan in 1910 and lived in Kamakura until her death in 1930.The Japan TimesKamakura: Fact and Legend In 1918 she wrote ...

(1867–1930).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jufuku-Ji 1200s establishments in Japan 1200 establishments in Asia Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa Kenchō-ji temples Rinzai temples 13th-century Buddhist temples

History

Graveyard

See also

References