, officially designated as , is a Buddhist temple situated in

Setagaya is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orchid, and its tree is the '' Ze ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Affiliated with the Jōdo sect, it is dedicated to

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

. The temple derives its name from the presence of nine statues, each depicting a different manifestation of

Amida Buddha Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Roma ...

, within its premises.

History

The temple was constructed on the former site of Okusawa Castle, which was previously owned by the

Kira clan The Kira clan(吉良氏 - kira-shi) was a Japanese clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880), and was a cadet branch of the Ashikaga clan, Ashikaga family from the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji). Ashikaga Mitsuuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuj ...

. Following the destruction of the castle during the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Tokugawa Ietsuna was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, which makes him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. ...

bestowed the plot upon the Jodo sect. In 1678, a priest called Kaseki built the temple.

Architecture

File:Joshin-ji_江戸名所図会.jpg, link=Archivo:Joshin-ji_江戸名所図会.jpg, alt=Mapa del templo en el siglo XIX The temple grounds also house a number of old trees, including a

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...

declared Cultural Heritage . Additionally, the temple layout is aligned with the principles of the Pure Land tradition. Derived from the 36 votes of

, the grounds occupy 3,600 tsubo (12,000 m²), the columns of the Three Buddha Halls are 36 in total , and the distance between the Jōbon-dō and the Main Hall is 36 ken (76.2 m).

Halls

Main Hall

File:Joshinji_MainHall_(Sakura).jpg, link=Archivo:Joshinji_MainHall_(Sakura).jpg, Main Hall (March 2023 The Main Hall o Ryūgo-den (龍護殿) is a 20-metre-tall and 20-metre-wide construction. The hip roof is covered with copper plates. Affixed to the lintel is a plate inscribed with the official name of the hall, "Ryūgo-den." Inside, there are a number of ornamental figures, the most notable of which is a 2.81-metre-tall statue of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

. The original statue, created by Kaseki, was destroyed in a fire in 1748, after which a replacement was installed in 1760.

Three Buddha Halls

File:Gebon (Joshin-ji).jpg, Gebon (March 2023) File:Chūbon (Joshin-ji).jpg, Chūbon (March 2023) File:Jōbon-dō (Joshin-ji).jpg, Jōbon (March 2023) There are three halls facing the Main Hall: the Gebon-dō (下品堂) on the left, Jōbon-dō (上品堂) in the centre, and the Chūbon-dō (中品堂) on the right. Each building houses three golden statues of Amida Buddha, also sculpted by Kaseki with the help of his disciple Kaoku. These statues symbolise the nine levels into which the individuals who are reborn in the Pure Land are classified according to their purity at the time of their death. The Gebon-dō contains the statues representing the lower level. The Chūbon-dō houses the statues of the intermediate level. Ultimately, the Jōbon-dō contains the statues of the upper level. Each statue is depicted in a different posture. The more mundane poses are reserved for the statues of the lower levels, and the more sacred ones for the statues of the upper levels.

Founder's Hall

File:Kaizan-do_Hall_of_the_Founder_(Joshin-ji).jpg, link=Archivo:Kaizan-do_Hall_of_the_Founder_(Joshin-ji).jpg, Founder's Hall The statue of Kaseki is situated within this hall. The tradition says that this statue provides protection against misfortune and ensures safe childbirth for pregnant women.

Kannon Hall

File:Hall_of_Kannon_(Joshin-ji).jpg, link=Archivo:Hall_of_Kannon_(Joshin-ji).jpg, Kannon Hall This hall is dedicated to the worship of Kannon. A total of 33 statues, representing the 33 manifestations of Kannon, are situated around the building.

Gates

Sōmon

File:Joshinji (Kuhombutsu).jpg, Puerta exterior del templo The

Sōmon is the gate at the entrance of a Buddhist temple in Japan.Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version It often precedes the bigger and more important ''sanmon A or is the most important mon of a Japanese Zen Buddhist t ...

is a simple wooden structure. On the right pillar, it bears the official name of the temple, while on the lintel, there is a plaque reading "Hanjujo" (般舟場). This plaque makes reference to the Pratyutpanna-samadhi sutra , which contains the earliest known references to Amida Buddha and his

Pure Land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...

Main Gate

The Main Gate or 仁王門 (niō-mon) is the entrance to the main worship area of the temple. It is a wooden structure built in 1793 and stands on a stone platform. It is six metres in height and has an

irimoya The East Asian hip-and-gable roof (''Xiēshān'' (歇山) in Chinese, ''Paljakjibung'' (팔작지붕) in Korean and ''Irimoya'' (入母屋) in Japanese) also known as 'resting hill roof', consists of a hip roof that slopes down on all four side ...

roof with copper plates installed in 1964 that replaces a former

thatched roof Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

. Furthermore, the gate's body is divided into two floors. The upper floor contains one statue of Amida and 25 statues of Bodhisattvas. The lower section, at the front, contains two statues of

Niō are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajra ...

, the protective deities of Buddhism.

Bell Tower

File:Bell Tower (Joshin-ji).jpg, link=Archivo:Bell_Tower_(Joshin-ji).jpg, Bell Tower This bell tower can be found on the left of the Main Gate. The structure was erected in 1708. The wooden structure is adorned with intricate carvings and elaborate sculptures. Additionally, the bell is adorned with arabesque-like motifs, as well as depictions of Buddha and celestial beings.

References

{{coord, 35.6082, 139.6608, type:landmark_region:JP, display=title Buddhist temples in Tokyo Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures in Japan