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Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
Buddhist temple of the
Rinzai 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 My ...
sect,
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 ...
school, in
Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kama ...
,
Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
, Japan. Jōmyō-ji is Number Five of the five temples known as ''
Kamakura Gozan The system, more commonly called simply ''Five Mountain System'', was a network of state-sponsored Chan (Zen) Buddhist temples created in China during the Southern Song (1127–1279). The term "mountain" in this context means "temple" or "monas ...
'' ("Kamakura's Five Mountains"), and the only one of the five not founded by a member of the
Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...
. Jōmyō-ji has instead, as nearby
Zuisen-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's in Kamakura, Japan.Kamiya (2008:98-102) During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura (the ''Kantō kubō''): four of the five ''kubō'' are buried ...
, deep ties with the
Ashikaga clan The was a prominent Japanese samurai clan which established the Muromachi shogunate and ruled Japan from roughly 1333 to 1573. The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originally from the town of Ashikag ...
, and was one of the family's funeral temples (''
bodaiji A in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead, giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor.Iwanami kojien The name is derived from the term , which originally meant jus ...
''). For this reason the family's '' kamon'', or crest, is ubiquitous on its premises. The first three characters of its full name mean "
Inari Inari may refer to: Shinto * Inari Ōkami, a Shinto spirit ** Mount Inari in Japan, site of Fushimi Inari-taisha, the main Shinto shrine to Inari ** Inari Shrine, shrines to the Shinto god Inari * Inari-zushi, a type of sushi Places * Inari, ...
mountain", presumably from the hill of the same name where it stands, in its turn named after an ancient Inari myth (see
below Below may refer to: *Earth * Ground (disambiguation) * Soil * Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) * Less than *Temperatures below freezing * Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fr ...
). Jōmyō-ji has given its name to the surrounding area, the characters for which have been however deliberately changed from to .


History

Jōmyō-ji was founded in 1188 by priest Taikō Gyōyū 退耕行勇 (1163–1241) as a
Mikkyō is a Japanese term for the Vajrayana practices of Shingon Buddhism and the related practices that make up part of the Tendai and Kegon schools. There are also Shingon and Tendai influenced practices of Shugendō. Mikkyō is a "lineage traditi ...
temple with the name Gokuraku-ji but, soon after the first Japanese
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
monastery, nearby
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 ...
, was founded in 1253, the temple's head priest Geppō Ryōnen changed its denomination to
Rinzai 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 My ...
and its name to the present one.Kamiya (2008:108–110) The date when this happened isn't known exactly, but it's thought to lie between 1257 and 1288. Ashikaga Sadauji, father of future shōgun
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 ...
, was Jōmyō-ji's sponsor and, with his help, it quickly grew in size and importance. (The temple's name actually derives from Jōmyōjiden, Sadauji's posthumous name.) We know for example that in 1323 fifty of Jōmyō-ji priests participated at a ceremony in memory of
Hōjō Sadatoki was the ninth ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate (reigned 1284–1301), and '' tokusō'' (''de facto'' ruler of Japan) from his appointment as regent until his death. Born to the regent Tokimune and his wife from the Adachi family ...
and that at the time the temple was ranked tenth for importance in Kamakura. According to the
Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923� ...
, at the end of his life
Ashikaga Tadayoshi "Ashikaga Tadayoshi" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 624. was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period (1337–92) of Japanese history and a close associate ...
was imprisoned and then poisoned here. In the second half of the 14th century shōgun
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu was ...
in Kyoto formally established the network of Zen temples called ''Five Mountain System'' (''Gozan seido'' in Japanese) to help the shogunate rule the country. Jōmyō-ji was fifth of the ''Kamakura Gozan'', the five temples which presided over the system's Kantō sector, and was given facilities worthy of its status, including over 20 '. However, in 1438 Kamakura Kubō
Ashikaga Mochiuji Ashikaga Mochiuji (, 1398–1439) was the Kamakura-fu's fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period (15th century) in Japan. During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all-time lo ...
rebelled against Kyoto's shogunate, was defeated and was forced to kill himself to avoid capture. After his death Kamakura's decline, which had started when shōgun
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 ...
had decided to move his capital to Kyoto, accelerated further, and the Kamakura Gozan followed the city into obscurity and neglect. When poet Gyōe in the summer of 1487 visited the temple, found it invaded by grasses and moss. During the turbulent
Sengoku period The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...
Jōmyō-ji, as the city in general, was to suffer a lot of violence and destruction.


Points of interest

For the role it had in the area's history, Jōmyō-ji has been declared a National Historical Site. After the main gate (''
sanmon A , also called , is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen '' shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other de ...
'') in the middle of the temple's large garden stands the Main Hall (the ''Hon-dō'', see photo above). Its structure is however not that of a typical
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
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 t ...
, but rather that of an 8×6 ''hōjō'' (chief priest's living quarters) with raised floors. Destroyed by fire in 1748, it was rebuilt in 1754 using in part original
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 ...
timber salvaged from the old edifice. The main object of worship is a seated figure of
Shaka Nyorai Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
carved in wood during the
Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...
. The temple also owns a seated figure of founding priest Taikō Gyōyū (the temple's only Important Cultural Property), a statue of goddess Shō-
Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. Sh ...
, another of
Fujiwara no Kamatari Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原 鎌足, 614 – November 14, 669) was a Japanese statesman, courtier and aristocrat during the Asuka period (538–710).Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Tadahira" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' ( ...
(an ancestor 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 ...
), and one of
Kōjin Kōjin, also known as , is the Japanese ''kami'' (''god'') of fire, the hearth and the kitchen. He is sometimes called Kamado-gami ( 竃神), literally ''the god of the stove''. He represents violent forces that are turned toward the betterme ...
, the god of the kitchen and cooking. The hōkyōintō in the cemetery behind the Hon-dō is said to be Ashikaga Sadauji's grave, but the attribution has been questioned by scholars because of the date it bears, sixty years after Sadauji's recorded date of death. The temple includes a recently restored tea house called where monks used to meet to have tea, but which is now open to the public. In front of the tea house lies a ''karesansui'', or
Zen rock garden The or Japanese rock garden, often called a zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and us ...
. On the premises there is also a restaurant and bakery owned and operated by the temple itself. Near the temple can be found the ruins of ,
Ashikaga Tadayoshi "Ashikaga Tadayoshi" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 624. was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period (1337–92) of Japanese history and a close associate ...
's
family temple An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestral ...
(he was often called ) where he was buried after he died.


The origins of the name Kamakura

On the hill behind the temple lies a small shrine called which, in spite of its insignificant appearance, is of a certain historical importance both because of its age (it dates back to the seventh century) and its role in a legend related to Kamakura's name.  The plaque next to the shrine explains that ''kami'' Inari gave young
Fujiwara no Kamatari Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原 鎌足, 614 – November 14, 669) was a Japanese statesman, courtier and aristocrat during the Asuka period (538–710).Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Tadahira" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' ( ...
a sickle which would magically protect him as long as it was in his possession. In 645 A.D., having defeated
Soga no Iruka Soga may refer to: People * Soga clan, a Japanese clan of the Yamato period * Soga clan (Sagami Province), a Japanese clan * Soga people, of the Busoga kingdom in present-day Uganda * Machiko Soga, Japanese voice actress * Soga Tokimune, Japa ...
, Kamatari came to the Kantō and there he dreamed of Inari, who told him: "I gave you the sickle to protect you, but now that you have achieved your goal of defeating Iruka, you must give it back to me and to the land." Kamatari buried the sickle, and on the spot was erected the shrine that carries his name. According to the same legend, the name Kamakura means "the place where Kamatari buried his sickle".This is one version of the tale. For a slightly different one se
Kamakura: History & Historic Sites – Origin of the Name Kamakura
/ref>


See also

* The
Glossary of Japanese Buddhism This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk (*) are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galle ...
for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture.


Notes


References

* *
Junisō, Jōmyō-ji
by the Kamakura Citizen's Net, accessed on May 21, 2009 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jomyoji (Kamakura) 1188 establishments in Asia Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa Kenchō-ji temples Rinzai temples 12th-century establishments in Japan Zen gardens