is a temple of the Myoshin-ji branch of Japanese

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 E ...

School of Zen

Buddhism 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 gra ...

in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

According to the oral tradition, Shōgen-ji was initially built as a

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 ...

temple during Saicho's visit to Eastern Japan in 817. At that time, the temple's name was most likely written differently, i.e. as . Later, in 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 ...

the temple was transferred to the Rinzai School and renamed to its present characters borrowing the characters of the Jōgen (also read as ''Shōgen'') imperial era (承元, 1207–11). Historically verifiable records indicate that during the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

the temple was selected as one of regional "peace-protection temples" by the

Muromachi bakufu The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

. It was burned to the ground during

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

's invasion of Suruga. In 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 ...

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 ...

shrine named "Divine Protection Mountain" was added to the rebuilt temple's premises, hence the full title of the temple at present is . The present abbot of the temple is Zen master, Soiku Shigematsu

Location

Take a bus headed to Tadanuma Shako 但沼車庫 from

Okitsu Station is a railway station in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tōkai). Lines Okitsu Station is served by the Tōkaidō Main Line, and is located 164.3 kilometers from the starting ...

(approx. 10 min) or Shimizu Station (approx. 30 min), exit at Shōgenji Mae 承元寺前, walk down across the river for 10 min. Otherwise take a taxi from Okitsu Station. Address: 299 Shōgenji-cho, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan 424-0201.Myōshinji-ha Shūmuhonjo 妙心寺派宗務本所 (2007). ''Myōshinji-ha Jiinroku'' 妙心寺派寺院録. p. 180. Temple registry no. 2805.

References

External links

Coordinates and contact details in Japanese. Myoshin-ji temples Rinzai temples {{zen-stub