, formerly written as , is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in Higashiyama-ku in

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. For centuries, Sennyū-ji has been a mausoleum for noble families and members of the

Imperial House of Japan The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

. Located within the temple grounds are the official tombs of

Emperor Shijō (March 17, 1231 – February 10, 1242) was the 87th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This reign spanned the years 1232 through 1242. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name ...

and many of the emperors who came after him.

History

Sennyū-ji was founded 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 Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. According to one tradition, it was founded as in 855 at the former mountain villa of

Fujiwara no Otsugu was a Japanese statesman, courtier, politician and editor during the Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Otsugu" in . He is credited as one of the collaborative compilers of the ''Nihon Kōki''.Nussbaum, "Nihon Kōki" ...

. According to another tradition, this temple was a reconstruction of an earlier temple, , which had been founded by Kōbō-Daishi in the

Tenchō was a after '' Kōnin'' and before '' Jōwa.'' This period spanned the years from January 824 through January 834. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * February 6, 824 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series o ...

era (824-834). The major buildings in Sennyū-ji were reconstructed and enlarged in the early 13th century by the monk Shunjō. Sennyuji Kyoto11o4592

''Tsukinowa no misasagi''

Emperor Go-Horikawa (March 22, 1212 – August 31, 1234) was the 86th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1221 CE through 1232 CE. This 13th-century sovereign was named after the 10th-century Emperor ...

and

were the first to be enshrined in an Imperial mausoleum at Sennyū-ji. It was called '' Tsukinowa no misasagi. Go-Momozono is also enshrined in ''Tsukinowa no misasagi'' along with his immediate Imperial predecessors since

Emperor Go-Mizunoo was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and was the first emperor to reign entirely during the Edo period. This 17th-century sovereign was n ...

-- Meishō, Go-Kōmyō, Go-Sai, Reigen, Higashiyama, Nakamikado, Sakuramachi, Momozono and

Go-Sakuramachi was the 117th monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 後桜町天皇 (120)/ref>Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 120. She was named after h ...

. ''Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashiyama no misasagi''
Kokaku and Ninko are enshrined at and Komei is also enshrined in form of ''

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』� ...

'' at .

Art

Sennyū-ji's large ''nehan-zu'' painting depicts Buddha on his death bed. This massive image (8 meters x 16 meters) is the largest in Japan. The image at nearby

Tōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. Tōfuku-ji takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.Japan ReferenceTōfuku-ji/ref> It is one of the Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto". Its ...

is the second largest of its kind in Japan, measuring 7 meters x 14 meters. Both images are only rarely displayed, most recently in 2003 for three days only. "Kansai: Who -- What: Giant Buddhas shown for three days only,"
''Japan Times Online.'' March 9, 2003.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Senyū-ji website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sennyu-ji Buddhist temples in Kyoto 1st-millennium establishments in Japan Religious organizations established in the 9th century Important Cultural Properties of Japan

History

Art

See also

Notes

References

External links