The , official name , is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Japan, said to have been established by

Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half ...

. The name comes from its main hall's hexagonal shape. This temple is part of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

History

Rokkaku-dō is believed to have been established in the early

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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. The origins of traditional Japanese flower arrangement through the ''

Ikenobō is the oldest and largest school of ''ikebana'', the Japanese practice of giving plants and flowers invigorated new life. The Buddhist practice of Ikenobo has existed since the building of the Rokkaku-do temple. The actual organized school ins ...

'' school are linked to Rokkaku-dō in the medieval

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

. Kansai Window

Rokkaku-dō was instrumental in the development of

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran (founder) S ...

. In 1201 CE,

Shinran ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'' by Esben Andreasen, pp. 13, 14, 15, 17. University of Hawaiʻi Press 1998, . was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent clos ...

undertook a 100-day retreat. He had a dream on the 95th day, seeing Prince Shōtoku (regarded as an incarnation of

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...

), who directed him to another monk,

Hōnen , also known as Genkū, was the founding figure of the , the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and sought an approach to Buddhism that all people of all ...

. Shinran subsequently became Hōnen's disciple, establishing Jōdo Shinshū within Hōnen's

Jōdo-shū Jōdo-shū (浄土宗, "The Pure Land School"), is a Japanese branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Kamakura era monk Hōnen (1133–1212). The school is traditionally considered as having been established in 1175 and i ...

Legends

According to legend, when Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子) was a child on Awaji Island he found a small Chinese chest that had floated ashore. Opening the lid, the prince found a gold image about 5.5 cm long of the Nyoirin Kannon, which he decided to keep as a sacred Buddhist image or amulet. He prayed to the Kannon to bring him success, promising Kannon that he would build Shitenno-ji Temple (in the area of present Osaka) if he was successful. In 587, Prince Shotoku decided to build the great temple of Shitennoj-i in Osaka. Searching for building materials, the prince journeyed out from Osaka. It was a hot day and the prince stopped by a pond to cool down. He took off his clothes and his precious amulet in order to bathe in the pond. He placed his clothes and the Nyoirin Kannon on a nearby tree. After his swim, he went to put on his clothes and put the Nyoirin Kannon back in his pocket. Suddenly the Kannon became too heavy to pick up and the prince was unable to continue. So the prince decided to spend the night there and await the morning. During the night he dreamed that Nyoirin Kannon appeared to him saying, “With this amulet I have given you, I have protected many generations but now I wish to remain in this place. You must build a six sided temple and enshrine me within this temple. Many people will come here and be healed.” So Prince Shotoku built the temple and enshrined Nyoirin Kannon within it. In 1204, when he was 29 years old, Shinran Shonin (1173 - 1263) decided to spend 100 days in seclusion or privacy at Rokkakudo Temple. On the 95th day, Kannon appeared to Shinran in a dream and told him to forgo his vow of celibacy and marry. She told him that she would appear to him in the form of a woman and they would become lovers and enter into Amida’s Paradise. She then told him that he should seek out Honen, his teacher, and found a new order of Buddhism that encouraged clerical marriage and family life. A small hexagonal hall at Rokkakudo features two statues of Shinran – one seated in a dream trance and one standing with walking staff and beads.

Notes

References

* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1956)
''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869.''
Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 36644

External links

{{Buddhist temples in Japan 6th-century Buddhist temples Buddhist temples in Kyoto Shinran Prince Shōtoku Vaiśravaṇa Temples of Avalokiteśvara Acala 6th-century establishments in Japan

History

Legends

See also

Notes

References

External links