, 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 belonging to the

Myōshin-ji is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The Myōshin-ji school is by far the largest school in Rinzai Zen, approximately as big as the other thirteen branches combined: it contains wit ...

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 ...

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 ...

, located in the city of Yamanashi,

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 ...

. Its main image is a statue of Shaka Nyōrai.

History

Seihaku-ji was founded by

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

in 1333 AD to pray for peace in the nation following the destruction of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

by Ashikaga forces in the Battle of Kamakura. Its founding priests were close disciples of

Musō Soseki was a Rinzai Zen, Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as ("national Zen teacher"), an honorific conferred on him by Emperor Go-Daigo.''Musō Soseki'' ...

, and the temple's construction was supported by donations raised by

Engaku-ji , or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture to the south of Tokyo. Founded ...

in Kamakura. Although

Erin-ji , is a Buddhist temple belonging to the Myōshin-ji branch of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. Located in the city of Kōshū, Yamanashi, Japan. It is the clan temple of the Takeda clan, noted Sengoku period warlords and rulers of Kai Provi ...

in Kōshū was founded in 1330 by Musō Soseki himself, Saihaku-ji grew to become the leading temple of the Musō school in Kai Province 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 ...

. It transferred its allegiance to

Kenchō-ji Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the ''Kamakura Gozan'') and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan.English pamphlet ...

in Kamakura during the Muromachi period, and to Myōshin-ji in the early

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 ...

. Most of the temple burned down in 1682, with the exception of the

Butsuden Main hall is the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple compound ('' garan'') which enshrines the main object of veneration.Kōjien Japanese dictionary Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English ...

Cultural properties

National Treasures

Seihaku-ji Butsuden

The at Seihaku-ji was built in 1415. It is a 3x3 bay ''irimoya-zukuri'' structure with ''

mokoshi In Japanese architecture , literally "skirt storey" or "cuff storey", is a decorative pent roof surrounding a building below the true roof. Since it does not correspond to any internal division, the ''mokoshi'' gives the impression of there being ...

'', and was designated a

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

in 1955. Its precise construction date was learned from items found during dismantling for repairs in 1917. Its was damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.

Important cultural properties

Seihaku-ji Kuri

The seigaku-ji built in 1689-93 is representative of

priests' quarters in the region and was designated an Important Cultural Property in 2005.

Gallery

Image:TemplulSeihakuji .jpg, Butsuden (NT) Image:Seihaku-ji Plan.jpg, Butsuden plan Image:Seihakuji temple-02.JPG, Kuri (ICP) Image:Seihaku-ji Temple main gate.JPG, Sanmon

References

External links

{{Authority control Buddhist temples in Yamanashi Prefecture Rinzai temples Yamanashi, Yamanashi Kai Province National Treasures of Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan