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 ...

located in the city of Fujisawa,

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is the headquarters of the Ji-shu branch of

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...

, founded in the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

Ippen 1234–1289 also known as Zuien was a Japanese Buddhist itinerant preacher (''hijiri'') who founded the branch of Pure Land Buddhism. Life Ippen was born at Hōgon-ji, a temple in Iyo Province (modern Ehime Prefecture) on the island of Shikok ...

. The formal name of the temple is Tōtaku-san Muryōkō-in Shōjōkō-ji (藤沢山無量光院清浄光寺), and its

honzon , sometimes referred to as a Gohonzon ( or ), is the enshrined main image or principal deity in Japanese Buddhism. The buddha, bodhisattva, or mandala image is located in either a temple or a household butsudan. The image can be either a statue ...

is a statue of Amida Nyorai. As the head priest of the temple, Tōtaku Shōnin, also bears the inherited title Yugyō Shōnin (遊行上人), the temple has become familiarly known as Yugyō-ji (遊行寺) since the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. The temple is also sometimes referred to as Fujisawa-dōjō.

History

The temple was founded in 1325 by the local Matano clan, whose estates extended from present-day Nishimatano, Fujisawa to Matano-chō and Higashimatano-chō in

Totsuka-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 Wards of Japan, wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 273,418 and a population density, density of 7,640 persons per km2. The total area was 35.70 km2. ...

and the 4th head of the sect, Dōnkai. However, it was located on the site of a much older temple called Gokuraku-ji, were Ippen had stayed while preaching in

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

and making a pilgrimage to

Enoshima is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Fujisawa, and is ...

. The temple was supported by the ''

kanrei or, more rarely, ''kanryō'', was a high political post in feudal Japan; it is usually translated as ''shōguns deputy''. After 1349, there were actually two ''Kanrei'', the ''Kyoto Kanrei'' and the ''Kantō Kanrei''. But originally from 1219 unt ...

'' Ashikaga Mochiuji in 1435. The temple was destroyed in 1513 in a battle between Hōjō Soun, Miura Dosun, and Ōta Sukeyasu. Shōjōkō-ji had bad relations especially with the

Later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply , but were called "Later Hōjō" to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan who h ...

after the castellan of

Tamanawa Castle was a castle structure in Tamanawa ward of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The adopted brother of Hōjō Ujiyasu, Hōjō Tsunashige, was commander of the castle. History Hōjō Sōun who had been fighting with the Miura clan built the c ...

had seized temple properties. In 1591, the 32nd Yugyō Shōnin was invited by Satake Yoshinobu of

Hitachi Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...

to build the Mito Fujisawa Dōjō (later known as Jinnō-ji) in Mito, making it the headquarters of the Ji-shu sect. Shōjōkō-ji was finally rebuilt in 1607, almost after a century. In 1631, the temple received official recognition from the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

as the head temple of the 274 Ji-shu temples in the country. It burned down in 1661, but the new Main Hall was completed in 1664. In 1694, in accordance with

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis- ...

's Shōjōkō-ji became a sanctuary for goldfish in the city of Edo. On October 15, 1737, the current principal image of the temple, a seated Amida Nyōrai, was moved from Hōjū-in, a sub-temple of Nirin-ji Temple in Asakusa. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the temple lost the estates that had been granted it by the shogunate for its upkeep, as well as its official red seal which had permitted its priests to travel freely anywhere in the country. However, the temple gained prestige when

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

made it his lodging on October 10, 1868 en route to Tokyo. Most of the temple was destroyed by a fire in 1880, leaving only the Chujakumon Gate. Although quickly rebuilt, the temple again burned down on July 6, 1911, which also destroyed its National Treasure "Ippen Shōnin Ekotōba-den" (Illustrated Tales of Yugyō Shōnin) scrolls. The temple suffered further damage in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, which collapsed its Main Hall. The current Main Hall was rebuilt in 1937. In 1977, the Yugyōji Treasure Museum was established, displaying picture scrolls related to Ippen that had previously been scattered throughout the country. Shojoko-ji Chujaku-mon.jpg, Kujakumon Gate Shojoko-ji Chujaku-mon.jpg, Fujisawa Memorial Tower to Friends and Foe

Fujisawa Memorial Tower to Friends and Foe

The is a ''kuyōtō'', or a form of

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

built for the purpose of memorial service so that the deceased can rest in peace, and is thus slightly different from the more secular

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

. It was built by the 14th head of the sect, Taikū, to commemorate the people and animals who died in the Uesugi Zenshu Rebellion of 1416. This was a civil war between the '' Kantō Kubō'' Ashikaga Mochiuji and the ''

Uesugi Zenshū , also known as Uesugi Ujinori, was the chief advisor to Ashikaga Mochiuji, an enemy of the Ashikaga shogunate in feudal Japan. When he was rebuked by Mochiuji in 1415, and forced to resign, Zenshū organized a rebellion. Zenshū received aid ...

. The disturbance cumulated in the Eikyō Rebellion in 1438. Also called the "Enshin Byōdō Monument" is 130-cm high and 28-cm wide. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1926.

References

*Shigeru Araki, Kichizō Yamamoto, "Sekkyō Bushi" (Heibon-sha, 1973) *Shunnō Ōhashi, "Ippen to Ji-shū Kyōdan" (Newton Press, 1978)

External links

Ji-shu Sōhonzan Yugyō-ji web site

Yugyō-ji Houmotsukan

Kunishitei Bunkazai Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shojoko-ji Buildings and structures in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Buddhist temples in Kanagawa Prefecture Pure Land temples Ji temples Kanagawa Prefecture designated tangible cultural property Historic Sites of Japan