is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

of the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

sect in the Higashiyama district of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The temple was founded in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori for the cloistered

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''in ...

. It is officially known as and belongs to the Myōhō-in temple complex. Sanjūsangen-dō is most famous for its massively long ''hondō'' (main hall) dating from 1266 (

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

) and designated a

National Treasure of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is " Tangible Cultural Properties designated by law in modern Japan as having extremely high value." Specifically, it refers to buildings, arts, and crafts designated as especially valuable from ...

, and the collection of sculptures it houses, including 1001 standing Thousand-armed Kannon, 28 standing attendants, a statue of

Fūjin or , sometimes also known as Ryobu, is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto and Buddhist gods. He is portrayed as a terrifying wizardly demon, resembling a red-haired, green-skinned humanoid wearing a tiger or leopard skin ...

and a statue of

Raijin , also known as , , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder, and Storm, storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto and Buddhism, Buddhist religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions ...

, and the principal image of the temple, a big seated statue of Thousand-armed Kannon, all of them designated National Treasures in the category of sculptures, most of them dating to the

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

History

Sanjūsangen-dō was founded by the famous ''

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

'' and politician Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181) in 1164 for the cloistered

. He built the temple in the emperor's own compound ''Hōjūji-dono'' in order to gain a noble title, that of Chancellor of the Realm, becoming the first ''samurai'' to do so. Go-Shirakawa's compound was around 1100 square meters in size, divided into ''Minamidono'' (the southern estate) and ''Kitadono'' (the northern estate). When Go-Shirakawa died in 1192, he was buried in the temple's east ''Hokkedō'' (hall of the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

).Informative panels behind the main hall The temple complex originally included several buildings other than the ''hondō'' ( main hall), including a ''gojūnotō'' (five-storied

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

), a Kannondō (a hall of

Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

) and a Fudodō (a hall of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

). All of these buildings were completely destroyed in 1249 by a fire that broke out in the city. The

Emperor Go-Saga was the 88th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This reign spanned the years Kamakura period, 1242 through 1246. This 13th-century monarch, sovereign was named after the 9th-century Emperor Saga and ''go-'' (後 ...

(1220–1272) ordered the reconstruction of the ''hondō'', which began in 1251. The building was completed in 1266 and survives to the present day. From the original 1000 standing Thousand-armed Kannon dating from the temple's construction 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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, only 124 were saved from the fire. The Emperor also ordered 876 new Kannon statues to replace the lost ones. These were created by three groups of Buddhist sculptors,

Kei school The was a Japanese school (style) of Buddhist sculpture which emerged in the early Kamakura period (c. 1200). Based in Nara, it was the dominant school in Buddhist sculpture in Japan into the 14th century, and remained influential until the 19th. ...

(Keiha), En school (Enpa) and In school (Inpa), during the course of 16 years. A popular '' kyūjutsu'' (archery) tournament known as '' Tōshiya'' ("passing arrow") was held at the west veranda of the temple for 255 years during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. The contest originated in the late 16th century dating back to 1606 when a

named Asaoka Heibei is said to have shot 51 arrows in rapid succession down the length of the veranda. In the beginning, archers shot arrows from the southern end of the veranda to the northern end where a

curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain) water. Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's windows to block the passage of light. For instan ...

-like ornament was erected as a

target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

. The contest gained popularity during the

and by the late 17th century competitions between participants from the Owari and Kishū provinces were drawing big crowds. The duel between the famous warrior

Miyamoto Musashi , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

and Yoshioka Denshichirō, leader of the

Yoshioka-ryū is a koryū Japanese sword-fighting martial art and is part of the Kyohachi-ryū. The Yoshioka-ryū became famous during the latter half of the 16th century when Yoshioka Kenpo (founder of Yoshioka-ryū) was assigned to be the sword instructor ...

, is popularly believed to have been fought just outside Sanjūsangen-dō in 1604. In the second Sunday of January, the temple has an event known as the ''Rite of the Willow'', where worshippers are touched on the head with a sacred willow branch to cure and prevent headaches, and a modern version of the ''Tōshiya'', the ''Festival of the Great Target'', is held on the west veranda, drawing roughly 2,000 participants from throughout Japan. Archers shoot arrows into targets approximately 50 - 100 centimeters in diameter and 60 meters (198 feet) away at the opposite end of the veranda. The festival was initially male-dominated, but in recent times it has shifted to being mainly women dressed in traditional kimonos, with the target being 120 meters (394 feet) away.

Important features

The main deity of the temple is ''Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokiteśvara'' or the Thousand Armed

. The statue of the main deity was created by the

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Tankei and is a

. The temple also contains one thousand life-size statues of the Thousand Armed Kannon which stand on both the right and left sides of the main statue in 10 rows and 50 columns. Of these, 124 statues are from the original temple, rescued from the fire of 1249, while the remaining 876 statues were constructed in the 13th century. The statues are made of

Japanese cypress ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; 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 ornamental qua ...

clad in gold leaf. The temple is 120 - meter long. Around the 1000 Kannon statues stand 28 statues of guardian deities. There are also two famous statues of

and

Guardian deities and Hinduism

The 28 guardian deities stand in front of the Buddhist Kannon have their origins in Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. These ideas came to Japan through China, and the presence of both Hindu and Buddhist deities at Sanjūsangen-dō temple in Kyoto suggest various theories of the origin and spread of the spiritual and cultural ideas from India to east Asia.Mark M. Jarzombek and Vikramaditya Prakash, A Global History of Architecture, 2nd Edition, Wiley, Life-size statues of these deities are housed at Sanjūsangen-dō where they guard the principal statue of the 11 feet tall seated Senju Kannon. The temple also features 1,000 standing statues of the Senju Kannon. The deities at Sanjūsangen-dō include Naraenkengo-ou, Misshaku-kongorikishi, Touhou-ten, Birurokusha-tennou, Birubakusha-tennou, Bishamonten, Daibon-tennou, Taishaku-ten, Daibenkudoku-ten, Mawara-ou, Jinmo-ten, Konpira-ou, Manzensha-ou, Hippakara-ou, Gobujyogo-ten, Konjikikujyaku-ou, Sanshitai-sho, Nandaryu-ou, Sakararyu-ou, Karura-ou, Kondai-ou, Mansen-ou, Magoraka-ou, Makeishura-ou, Kendabba-ou, Ashura-ou, Kinnara-ou and Basusennin. These deities trace their origins to Indian Dharmic mythology covering Hindu, Jain and Buddhist, and correspond to

Varuna Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

Vayu Vayu (; ), also known as Vata () and Pavana (), is the Hindu deities, Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine messenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king o ...

Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

and others.

Visitor Experience

Sanjūsangen-dō offers guided tours to visitors year-round. Visitors will get an in-depth look at the history of the temple as they explore its grand halls. Visitors can also come during the annual archery contest known as '' Tōshiya'', which showcases traditional archery skills. Visitors can get to the temple by taking a train ride to Kyoto's station then after a short bus ride on buses 206 and 208, followed by a 20-minute walk they will be at the temple. The temple is close to many other attractions, such as the

Kyoto National Museum The is one of the major art museums in Japan. Located in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward, the museum focuses on pre-modern Japanese and Asian art. History The Kyoto National Museum, then the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, was proposed, along with the Imp ...

so visitors are encouraged to visit the other sights while at the temple. Cameras are not allowed inside the temple, but a photo book will be offered at the end of the guided tour that you can purchase.

Gallery

File:Sanjusangendo Thousand-armed Kannon.JPG, Senju Kannon, the main statue of veneration in Sanjusangen-dō　(by Tankei) File:Senju Kannon Sanjusangendo.jpg, Senju Kannon No.20 (by Tankei) File:Tokyo National Museum d004.jpg, Senju Kannon No.40 (by Tankei) File:Sanjusangendo twenty eight attendants.jpg, One of the 28 Sanjusangen-do temple deities, Kendatsuba (乾闥婆) File:Twenty-Eight Attendants (Basu Sennin) Sanjusangendo.jpg, One of the 28 Sanjusangen-do temple deities, Basu Sennin (婆藪仙人) File:Twenty-Eight Attendants (Taishakuten) Sanjusangendo.jpg, One of the 28 Sanjusangen-do temple deities, Taishakuten (帝釈天)28 Attendant Deities serving the 1,000-Armed Kannon
A-Z Photodictionary of Japanese Buddhist Statuary. File:Sanjusangendo Fujin old.jpg,

, the Japanese

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

of wind File:Sanjusangendo Raijin.jpg,

, the Japanese kami of thunder File:1363 Sanjiu Sangendo.jpg, The arrangement of Buddha statues in the past. The 28 attendants that once surrounded the central principal image are now relocated to the front of the 1000 statues of Senju Kannon. File:Kusakabe Kimbei 1364 Sanjiu.JPG, The arrangement of Buddha statues in the past.

Notes

External links

Sanjūsangen-dō official web site Accessibility information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanjusangen-do 1164 establishments in Asia Buddhist temples in Kyoto Religious organizations established in the 1160s Tendai temples National Treasures of Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan 1160s establishments in Japan Buildings and structures completed in 1164