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 in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture,

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 n ...

, built in the late

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 Japan ...

. It is jointly a temple of the

Jōdo-shū , also known as Jōdo Buddhism, is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Hōnen. It was established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shin ...

(Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects.

History

This temple was originally built in 998 in the

as a rural villa of high-ranking courtier

Minamoto no Shigenobu was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

, Minister of the Left. After he died, one of the most powerful members of the

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

Fujiwara no Michinaga was a Japanese statesman. The Fujiwara clan's control over Japan and its politics reached its zenith under his leadership. Early life Michinaga was born in Kyōto, the son of Kaneiye. Kaneiye had become Regent in 986, holding the position unt ...

, purchased the property from the courtier's widow. The villa was made into a Buddhist temple by his son Fujiwara no Yorimichi in 1052. Being one of the World Heritage sites of Japan, the Byodoin Temple buildings and Buddha statues have a long history of about 1000 years. In East Asian Buddhism, there is the Three Ages of Buddhism, which are three divisions of time following Buddha's passing. The Mappo, which is also translated as the Age of Dharma Decline, is the degenerate Third Age of Buddhism, also known as the Latter Day of the Law. It was widely believed that the year 1052 marked the first year of the beginning of the end-of-the-world. This theory captured the heart of many aristocrats and monks, which as a result, people became more devout in Buddhism and believed in the ideology of Buddhist Pure Land. In the following year, Amida-do Hall (Phoenix Hall) was completed in whose interior sits the 2.4 meters tall Amida Buddha statue created by Jōchō, who is claimed to have been the best Buddhist sculptor in the Heian Period. Masashige Kusunoki, a samurai warrior who was fighting against the army of the Ashikaga Clan, set a fire around Byodoin Temple in 1336, which resulted in many of the temple buildings were burnt down with only a few surviving. The Byodoin Temple gradually expanded into a massive Temple complex during 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 b ...

, where Jodo-in Temple was opened due to the renovation of Byodoin Temple in 1496; Rakan-do Hall was established in 1640; Saisho-in Temple was established in 1654. A full-scale renovation of the Amida-do Hall (Phoenix Hall) was undertaken in 1670, during which the front doors were replaced. Two sub-temples, Jodo-in Temple belonging to the Jodo Sect and Saisho-in Temple belonging to the Tendai Sect, began to cooperate and made a great effort to maintain the operation of Byodoin Temple. In 1698, Uji was devastated by a large fire and Byodoin Temple was badly damaged. The walls and doors of Phoenix Hall were ruined after this incident. However, as a result of the deterioration of the temple, people's will for Phoenix Hall's preservation and renovation became enthusiastic. During the

Meiji Period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1868–1912) and Showa Period (1926–1989), large scale renovation of the Phoenix hall was undertaken. The Phoenix Hall and Amida Buddha statue were designated as National Treasures in 1951, which Phoenix Hall was also selected for the design as the obverse of the

10 yen coin The is one denomination of the Japanese yen. The obverse of the coin depicts the Phoenix Hall of Byōdō-in, a Buddhist temple in Uji, Kyoto prefecture, with the kanji for "Japan" and "Ten Yen". The reverse shows the numerals "10" and the da ...

. Then, the Temple Bell, the praying Bodhisattva on Clouds, the Canopy, the paintings on the door and walls of Cho-do Hall of Phoenix Hall were designated as National Treasures. The Byodoin Temple was designated as a

UNESCO World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto in 1994. Large scale renovation on the garden, the canopy of Amida Buddha statue and the overall outlook of the Phoenix Hall continues in the Heisei Period (1989–2019) until today. The most famous building in the temple is the or the Amida Hall, constructed in 1053. It is the only remaining original building, surrounded by a scenic pond; additional buildings making up the compound were burnt down during a civil war in 1336.

The Temple complex

The Phoenix Hall

The main building in Byōdō-in, the Phoenix Hall consists of a central hall, flanked by twin wing corridors on both sides of the central hall, and a tail corridor. The central hall houses an image of Amida Buddha. The roof of the hall displays statues of the Chinese phoenix, called ''hōō'' in Japanese. The building is regarded as almost the sole remaining example from the Fujiwara Regent Period, which is also considered as one of the most important cultural assets of Japan. The Phoenix Hall, completed in 1053, is the exemplar of Fujiwara Amida halls. It consists of a main rectangular structure flanked by two L-shaped wing corridors and a tail corridor, set at the edge of a large artificial pond. Though its official name is Amida-dō, it began to be called Hōō-dō, or Phoenix Hall, in the beginning of 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 character ...

. This name is considered to derive both from the building's likeness to a phoenix with outstretched wings and a tail, and the pair of phoenixes adorning the roof. Inside the Phoenix Hall, a single image of Amida (c. 1053) is installed on a high platform. The Amida sculpture is made of Japanese cypress and is covered with gold leaf. It was executed by Jōchō, who established a new canon of proportions and a new technique, '' yosegi'', in which multiple pieces of wood are carved out like shells and joined from the inside. The statue measures about three meters high from its face to its knees. Sitting in a meditation position with his back slightly hunched, his body is relaxed without any tension. His hand gesture is called 'Inso', which both hands are placed on the lap, palms facing upward, thumbs and forefingers form a circle. This gesture is a variation of the Dhyana Mudra (Meditation Mudra), which suggests concentration of the Good Law. The

Urna In Buddhist art and culture, the Urna (more correctly ūrṇā or ūrṇākośa (Pāli uṇṇa), and known as in Chinese) is a spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark. It symbolizes a third eye, w ...

, which is the white dot on his forehead between the eyes, is the Third Eye of the Amida Buddha, a symbol of awakening and the ability to see the suffering of all creatures. The serene smile of the statue represents the nobility of the Buddha after attaining Enlightenment. With a harmonious and gentle facial expression, he is looking slightly downward, which shows the state of meditation, as well as the feeling of merciful grace towards the audience. His hair is short and curled, along with Ushnisha, which is the pointed topknot located on the center of the head. Applied to the walls of the hall are small relief carvings of celestials, the host believed to have accompanied Amida when he descended from the Western Paradise to gather the souls of believers at the moment of death and transport them in lotus blossoms to Paradise. '' Raigō'' paintings on the wooden doors of the Phoenix Hall, depicting the Descent of the Amida Buddha, are an early example of Yamato-e, Japanese-style painting, and contain representations of the scenery around Kyoto. There is a ''Jōdo-shiki'' garden with a pond in front of the building, which in 1997 was dredged as part of an archeological dig. As the temple faces the East, it suggests that the audience need to cross the Aji-ike pond in front of the Phoenix Hall, in order to reach Buddhist Pure Land. The gardens are a nationally designated

Historic Site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

and Place of Scenic Beauty.

The Kannon-do Hall

The Kannon-do Hall is an Important Cultural Property, established on the former site of the main hall around 1230, during the Early Kamakura Period. The hall structure is simple, which follows the classical design from the Tenpyo period (710-794), having two different form bent to support the roof. It is currently under renovation and not open to the public. Japan commemorates the building's longevity and cultural significance by displaying its image on the

, and the

10,000 yen note The ¥10,000 note (1万円紙幣 ''ichiman-en shihei'') is the largest banknote denomination of the Japanese yen, as well as the largest denomination of the Japanese yen overall. It was first introduced in Japan in 1958 to the third series of ba ...

features the phoenix image. In December 1994,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

listed the building as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

as part of the " Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto". The Phoenix Hall, the great statue of Amida inside it, and several other items at Byōdō-in are national treasures. A half-size replica of the temple was completed on June 7, 1968 in the Valley of the Temples ( O'ahu,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

). The Japanese post has issued three definitive postage stamps showing the phoenix hall, each prepaying the then postal rate for a surface mail foreign letter: 1950, 24 yen 1957 and 30 yen 1959. Stamps were produced by the costly engraving method, showing the appreciation of the hall.

Yorin-an Shoin Residence

It is a residence as well as one of the sub-temples in the precinct. Built 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 character ...

(around 17th century), the roof is thatched with

Japanese cypress ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; ja, 檜 or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and orname ...

bark, which the materials used for construction were believed came from remains of the Momoyama Castle. The interior wall paintings were the works produced by artists who belonged to the studio run by Sansetsu Kano, while the garden is said to have been designed by Sansai Hosokawa.

Hoshokan Museum

As the former temple museum which opened in 1965 had become outdated, an innovative third-generation museum was opened on March 1, 2001, which is named the Hoshokan Museum. This museum achieved a significantly improved storage and display environment for national treasures from the Byodoin Temple, including the Temple Bell, 26 statues of the Praying Bodhisattva on Clouds and a pair of Phoenix from the rooftop of Phoenix Hall. It is the first comprehensive museum run by a religious organisation. The majority of the museum buildings are hidden underground, so that the exterior outlook of museum's blends with Phoenix Hall and other building complexes within the temple. Due to its design, the interior of the museum receives sufficient natural sunlight, as well as artificial lighting to keep the exhibition halls bright and comfortable for audience's experience. Entry to the complex grounds costs 600 yen for adults, and includes access to the gardens and the museum. An entry pass to the Phoenix Hall, which was newly restored in March 2014, costs an additional 300 yen and can be purchased near the gate. The tour is conducted in Japanese, however English paper guide book is provided.

Byodoin Tea Salon Toka

A tea salon to try authentic Uji green tea in the precinct of Byodoin Temple. Tea leaves harvested in the tea fields of Uji City or neighbouring farms are used. Certified Japanese Tea Instructors will provide tea to visitors with the finest care and knowledge. Open Monday to Sunday but closed on Tuesday, from 10:00 to 16:30. Last order is at 16:00.

Gallery

File:Byodoin-PhoenixHall-M1264.jpg, The head of the Jōchō statue of

Amitābha Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awaren ...

is visible in this photo of the Phoenix Hall. File:Byodo-in_Uji03bs2640.jpg, Left side of Phoenix Hall File:Byodo-in Uji04bs2640.jpg, The garden in front of the Phoenix Hall. File:Byodoin Uji Kyoto07s3s4592.jpg, Kannondo File:Byodoin Uji Kyoto09n4380.jpg, Omotemon, the main gate. File:Byodoin-tourgroupwalking-2015-12-29.webm, (video) Tourists walking into the Phoenix Hall on a sunny day.

References

External links

Official homepage (in Japanese)

Byodo-in - World History Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byodo-in 998 establishments 10th-century Buddhist temples Buddhist temples in Kyoto Prefecture Gardens in Kyoto Prefecture World Heritage Sites in Japan National Treasures of Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan 1052 establishments in Asia Places of Scenic Beauty Historic Sites of Japan 11th-century establishments in Japan 10th-century establishments in Japan Monzeki