is a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

of the Shingon Ritsu school with an historic

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desi ...

located in

Kizugawa, Kyoto is a city located in southern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is the southernmost city in the prefecture and it is named after the Kizu River, a tributary of the Yodo River, which runs through the city. Kizugawa City is a part of the Kansai Science ...

Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the few remaining examples of a

Paradise Garden The paradise garden is a form of garden of Old Iranian origin, specifically Achaemenid which is formal, symmetrical and most often, enclosed. The most traditional form is a rectangular garden split into four quarters with a pond in the center, ...

of the early

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 Japanese ...

. The three-storied pagoda, the main hall, the group of nine sitting Amida Nyorai statues and the group of

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...

are all designated as National Treasures. The temple is heavily influenced by Pure Land thought.

The Temple

The Jōruri-ji Temple was founded in 1047 by the priest Gimyō Shōnin. Similar to temples of Pure Land Buddhism, it is laid out around a large pond, which represents the ocean that separates birth and death. In the center of the pond is an island symbolizing earth, connected to the shore by a stone slab bridge. On the west side of the pond is the Amida Hall or Paradise Hall, which symbolizes the Western Paradise of Amida Nyorai. To the east of the lake is a three-story pagoda which represents the Eastern Paradise of

Yakushi Nyorai Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

, the Buddha of healing. Worshipers could stand on the east side of the pond and face west toward the Paradise Hall.Young and Young, ''The Art of the Japanese Garden'', pg. 94 The Paradise Hall contains nine statues of the Amida Buddha, each one symbolizing one of the nine stages of

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

. It was constructed in 1107 and moved to its present location in 1157. The temple also has a pagoda, moved to its present site from Kyoto in 1178.

The garden

The pond was dug in 1150 by priests from

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

. On either side of the pond are stone lanterns dating to 1366, which are classified as Important Cultural Properties by the Japanese government. Beginning in 1976 the garden was restored to its original form by the landscape architect Mori Osamu.

Sources and Citations

Bibliography

*David and Michiko Young, ''The Art of the Japanese Garden'', Tuttle Publishing, Singapore, 2005. () {{DEFAULTSORT:Joruri-ji Pure Land Buddhism Gardens in Japan Gardens in Kyoto Prefecture Buddhist temples in Kyoto Prefecture Shingon Ritsu temples National Treasures of Japan Special Places of Scenic Beauty Important Cultural Properties of Japan Historic Sites of Japan

The Temple

The garden

See also

Sources and Citations

Bibliography