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 Nakagyō-ku,

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 ...

. In the Middle Ages, the temple revived a performance created by the

Yuzu Nembutsu is a school of Pure Land Buddhism that focuses on the ritual recitation of the ''Nembutsu'' (or Nianfo), the name of the Amitabha Buddha. Followers believe this recitation benefits not just the speaker, but the entire world as well. The sect be ...

monk Engaku known as the '' Dai Nembutsu Kyōgen''. It is also known for having been affiliated with the

Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time when ...

. The temple has taken on several other names such "Jizō-in (地蔵院)", "Hōdōsanmai-in (宝幢三昧寺)", and "Shinjōkō-in (心浄光院)." The current abbot is Shunkai Matsuura.

History

The temple was founded in 991 by the monk

Kaiken A is a long, single (or rare double-edged) knife without ornamental fittings housed in a plain mount. Uses It was once carried by men and women of the samurai class in Japan. It was useful for self-defense in indoor spaces where the long bla ...

of Onjō-ji as a gift to his mother. In 1005 a memorial service was held in which the temple was given the name "Komii-dera (小三井寺, lit. "little

Mii-dera , formally called , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the Jimon sect ...

")" in reference to the founder's original temple. It is said that the title "Jizō-in" was bestowed on the temple during

Emperor Shirakawa was the 72nd emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 白河天皇 (72)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shirakawa's reign lasted from 1073 to 1087. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Th ...

's imperial visit. The priest Engaku of the

school restored the temple in the medieval period. Tradition holds that he was responsible for establishing the practice of the '' Mibu Dai Nembutsu Kyōgen'', now an

Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property A is administered by the Government of Japan, Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and includes Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, tangible properties (structures ...

. Towards the end of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the Tokugawa

Bakufu , 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 ...

established the

Mibu Rōshigumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time whe ...

at the nearby stronghold, the Yagi House (八木家 ''Yagike''). The Mibu Rōshigumi were an elite public security corp that would later be known as the

. Mibu-dera's grounds served as the base for the organization's military and martial arts training. A bronze statue of commander

Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyagaw ...

stands within the temple precincts, as well as a grave-site for Shinsengumi regimental soldiers. The resting place of Kondō Isami is believed to be elsewhere.

Aizuwakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Aizuwakamatsu is located in the west ...

and

Mitaka, Tokyo 260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka is a city in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Mit ...

have been suggested as possible locations. Mibu-dera's main image was originally a half-lotus seated

Kṣitigarbha Kṣitigarbha ( sa, क्षितिगर्भ, , bo, ས་ཡི་སྙིང་པོ་ Wylie: ''sa yi snying po'') is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. His name may be tr ...

statue, fashioned in the latter part of 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 ...

, affectionately dubbed "Mibu Jizō" among the local faithful. The image was destroyed by arson along with the main hall on July 25, 1962. After the fire, a standing Kṣitigarbha statue was relocated from the head temple

Tōshōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the ''kondō'', has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archetyp ...

and became the temple's new main image. The main hall was rebuilt in 1967.

Temple grounds

* Dai Nembutsu-dō (大念仏堂), the kyōgen stage and an Important Cultural Property * Ichiya Tenjin-dō (一夜天神堂), on the northern side of the inner east gate *Sekizō

Hōkyōintō A is a Japanese pagoda, so called because it originally contained the .Iwanami Kōjien Japanese dictionary A Chinese variant of the Indian stūpa, it was originally conceived as a cenotaph of the King of Wuyue – Qian Liu. Structure and func ...

(石像宝篋印塔), to the left of the Ichiya Tenjin-dō * Amida-dō (阿弥陀堂), west of the Ichiya Tenjin-dō. Includes admission fee *

Benten Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...

-dō (弁天堂), west of the Amida-dō *

Rokkaku-dō The , official name , is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, said to have been established by Prince Shōtoku. The name comes from its main hall's hexagonal shape. This temple is part of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. History Rokkaku-dō is beli ...

(六角堂), west of the Benten-dō *Sentai Buttō (千体仏塔), a stupa that enshrines one-thousand stone Buddhas. South of the main hall *Bronze statue of

*Mibu burial mound (壬生塚 ''Mibu-tsuka'') *"Ah Shinsengumi" (あゝ新撰組) Literary Monument, established by volunteers in the 11th year of the

Heisei period The is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, ...

. Includes a button that plays the song three times when pressed

References

991 10th-century Buddhist temples 991 establishments Buddhist temples in Kyoto Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties {{Buddhist-temple-stub Tenjin faith

History

Temple grounds

See also

References