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 ...

located in the Azuchi neighborhood of the city of

Ōmihachiman 260px, City Hall 260px, Traditional buildings Preservation Area is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 82,233 in 34747 households and a population density of 570 persons per km². The total area ...

in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Its

mountain name Buddhist temples or Buddhist monasteries together with Shinto shrines, are considered to be amongst the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan.The term "Shinto shrine" is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirro ...

is . The temple belongs to the Myōshin-ji branch of the

Rinzai school 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 ...

Japanese Zen :''See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan'' Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen, Zen Buddhism, an orig ...

History

Sōken-ji was erected within the grounds of Azuchi Castle by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

in the Tenshō era (1573-1591). The head priest was the third son of Oda Nobuyasu, lord of Iwakura Castle in

Owari province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were ...

, who was from a cadet branch of the clan. Rather than build new structures, Oda Nobunaga relocated existing structures from other temples and shrines which caught his eye. Specific surviving examples include the Niōmon gate, which was originally from Kashiwagi Jinja in

Kōka was a after ''Tenpō'' and before ''Kaei.'' This period spanned the years from December 1844 through February 1848. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * December 2, 1844 (): The new era name of ''Kōka'', meaning "Becoming Wide ...

and the Three-story Pagoda which was originally at Chōju-ji, also in Kōka. Both structures are now designated National Important Cultural Properties The temple survived the destruction of Azuchi Castle after the assassination of Nobunaga in 1582. During 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 ...

, it had estates with a ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 54 ...

'' of 227 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'', which provided it with sufficient income to grow to over 22 buildings, even without regular parishioners. It was also supported by the surviving branches of the Oda clan, especially the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of Kaigara Domain in Tanba Province (30,000 ''koku''), who used the temple as their '' bodaiji'' from 1695. Memorial services were held at the temple on the 100th, 150th, 200th and 250th anniversaries of Oda Nobunaga's death, and the successive head priests of Sōken-ji were always descendants of the Oda clan. On 16 November 1854, most of the temple, including the Main Hall were destroyed in an accidental fire. A "temporary" Main Hall was built on the site of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

's residence at Azuchi Castle. This building still remains in use. After 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the temple was deprived of its estates, and fell into gradual decline.

Transportation

The temple is a 25-minute walk from Azuchi Station on the

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

Biwako Line.

Gallery

Aduchi castle11.jpg, Nio-mon (ICP) Sokenji-Karihondo.jpg, Temporary Hondō

References

External links

Azuchi Castle Photo Gallery at PHOTOGUIDE.JP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soken-Ji Buddhist temples in Shiga Prefecture Important Cultural Properties of Japan Oda clan Myoshin-ji temples Ōmihachiman, Shiga Ōmi Province