Senju-ji (専修寺), also known as Takadayama (高田山), refers to a pair of temples which are the chief Buddhist temples of the Takada branch of

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ...

, a

Japanese Buddhist Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had a ...

sect. The current head temple, Honan Senju-ji, founded in the 15th century, is located in

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture ...

. The original head temple, Hon-ji Senju-ji, founded in 1225, is located in

Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the nort ...

. Both temples are governed by the same abbot.

Senju-ji Hon-ji

was founded by

Shinran ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'' by Esben Andreasen, pp. 13, 14, 15, 17. University of Hawaii Press 1998, was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent close of ...

, the founder of the

sect in 1225. According to legend, a child appeared to Shinran and presented him with seeds and a staff, which he planted in this place to establish the temple. According to historical documentation, Senju-ji was constructed with the patronage of the

Ōuchi clan was one of the most powerful and important families in Western Japan during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate in the 12th to 14th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi, comprised six provinces at their height, and ...

, rulers of Mooka Castle, to enshrine a Zenko-ji-style Amida triad, and was entrusted to Shinbutsu, one of Shinran's closest disciples. The temple was Number 2 on a pilgrimage route of 24 temples associated with the sect in eastern Japan. Shinran resided and preached here after returning from exile in Echigo. Soon after its founding, Senju-ji was named an imperial temple (''chokuganji'') and Shinran made it the center of his activities. Shinran wrote the "Takada Mado" and often sent letters of instruction and books copied by himself to Kyoto. These teaching form the basis of the "Takada school" within the Jōdo Shinshū sect. Shinran resided here for seven years before returning to Kyoto, and his followers made it an important center in spreading his teachings in eastern Japan. It declined after Shinran's death until revived in the middle of the 15th century as the teachings of

Rennyo Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (head priest) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). H ...

gained in popularity. It was destroyed by fire during the

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 ...

, and although rebuilt in 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 ...

, leadership of its branch of the Jōdo Shinshū sect had shifted to the Honzan temple in

. The temple's current building dates mainly from the early Edo-period reconstruction. Its precincts were designated a National Historic Site in 1967. Several of the temple's buildings are designated as National Important Cultural Properties. File:Honji-Senju-ji Nyoraido.JPG, Nyorai-do, built 1701, ICP File:Honji-Senju-ji Romon.JPG, Rōmon, built 1688-1703, ICP File:Honji-Senju-ji Somon.JPG, Sōmon, built 1615-1660, ICP

Senju-ji Honzan

The in the city of Tsu,

is traditionally said to have been founded by the monk Shinne, who had arrived from Takada. Its predecessor may have been a temple named Muryōju-ji, which was closely related to the imperial court and aristocratic culture. In 1478 it was designated an imperial temple (''chokuganji'') and in 1574 it became a ''

monzeki ''Monzeki'' (門跡) were Japanese Buddhist priests of aristocratic or imperial lineage. The term was also applied to the temples in which they lived. An example of a ''monzeki'' temple is Daikaku-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Uky� ...

'' temple headed by an Imperial Prince. Buildings include the Mieidō (1666) and Nyoraidō (1748), both of which escaped fires in the 18th century and have been designated National Treasures. Important Cultural Properties preserved at the temple include paintings, statues, and documents. The is a compilation in six volumes of the words, teachings, and practices of Shinran's teacher

Hōnen was the religious reformer and founder of the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism called . He is also considered the Seventh Jōdo Shinshū Patriarch. Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and ...

. According to the colophons, Shinran wrote it at the age of 84. It is the oldest primary source of its kind and the best attested of Shinran's late writings in his own hand. It was designated a National Treasure in 1953. File:Honzan-Senju-ji Mieido.JPG, Honzan-Senju-ji Mieido（National Treasure） File:Honzan-Senju-ji Nyoraido.JPG, Honzan-Senju-ji Nyoraido（National Treasure） File:Honzan-Senju-ji Sanmon.JPG, Honzan-Senju-ji Sanmon File:Honzan-Senju-ji Karamon.JPG, Honzan-Senju-ji Karamon File:Honzan-Senju-ji Shoro.JPG, Honzan-Senju-ji Shoro File:Honzan-Senju-ji Taikomon.JPG, Honzan-Senju-ji Taikomon

Notes

References

*Frederic, Louis (2002). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

External links

{{Authority control Buddhist temples in Tochigi Prefecture Buddhist temples in Mie Prefecture 1220s establishments in Japan 1226 establishments in Asia 13th-century Buddhist temples Jōdo Shin temples Shinshū Takada-ha Monzeki Historic Sites of Japan

Senju-ji Hon-ji

Senju-ji Honzan

See also

Notes

References

External links