The , is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

with the ruins of a

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 ...

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 ...

located in the Tsuboi neighborhood of the city of

Habikino, Osaka 270px, Habikino city office is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 109,479 in 50918 households and a population density of 4100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city is known fo ...

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 no longer exists, but the temple grounds were designated as a National Historic Site in 1957.

Overview

The Tsuboi area of Habiniko is the birthplace of the

Kawachi Genji The Kawachi Genji () were members of a family line within that of the Seiwa Genji, which in turn was one of several branches of the Minamoto clan, one of the most famous noble clans in Japanese history. Descended from Minamoto no Yorinobu (968 ...

clan, descended from

Minamoto no Yorinobu was a samurai commander and member of the powerful Minamoto clan. Along with his brother Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Yorimitsu, Yorinobu served the regents of the Fujiwara clan, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. ...

(968–1048). The Kawachi Genji included

Minamoto no Yoshiie , also known as and his title , was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North). The first son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, he proved himself in battle with the Ab ...

, who was the common ancestor of nearly all the major Minamoto generals of the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yori ...

, including

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

. The temple was founded in 1043 by Yorinobu's son

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was a Japanese samurai lord who was the head of the Minamoto clan and served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun''. Along with his son Minamoto no Yoshiie, he led the Imperial forces against rebellious forces in the north, a campaign called the Zenkunen War, ...

, who found a life-sized image of

Senjū 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 ...

in the ruins of a burned down hermitage, and decided to build a new temple which would be the ''

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 ju ...

'' of his clan. The main image of the new temple was an

Amida Nyorai 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 Ro ...

, and the statue of Senjū Kannon was also installed. Following the exploits of his son

in the

Zenkunen War The , also known in English as the Former Nine Years' War or the Early Nine Years' War, was fought between the Imperial Court in Kyoto, Imperial Court and the Abe clan in Mutsu Province, in Tōhoku region, Northeast Japan, from 1051 to 1062. It ...

, and the

Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power ...

, which earned him the sobriquet "Hachiman-tarō", the

Tsuboi Hachimangū Tsuboi Hachimangū (壺井八幡宮, ''Tsuboi Hachimangū'') is a Shinto shrine located in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is a Hachiman shrine, dedicated to the kami Hachiman. It was established in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi. Its mai ...

was also erected to the northwest of the temple. The temple was burned down during the wars of the

Nanboku-chō period The , also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336-1392 CE, during the formative years of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 ...

. In 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 ...

, Tada Yoshinao, a descendent of the Kawachi Genji, petitioned

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 Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis- ...

to restore the temple.

Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wr ...

was appointed

bugyō was a title assigned to ''samurai'' officials in feudal Japan. ''Bugyō'' is often translated as commissioner, magistrate, or governor, and other terms would be added to the title to describe more specifically a given official's tasks or jurisdi ...

to oversee the reconstruction. However, in 1868, with the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

and the ''

Haibutsu kishaku (literally "abolish Buddhism and destroy Shākyamuni") is a term that indicates a current of thought continuous in Japan's history which advocates the expulsion of Buddhism from Japan.Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

, the temple was abandoned. At present, only the

Sanmon A or is the most important mon 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 denominations ...

gate and the '' shōryō'' bell tower remain. The temple also has what it claims to be the tomb of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi and some ''

tōrō are a type of traditional East Asian lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Originating in China, stone lanterns spread to Japan, Korea and Vietnam, though they are most commonly found in both China – extant in Buddhist temples and traditional ...

'' stone lanterns that were donated during the time of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. The tombs of Minamoto no Yorinobu and Minamoto no Yoshiie are in the hills some 200 meters the southeast. The temple site is about a 20-minute walk from

Kaminotaishi Station is a passenger railway station in located in the city of Habikino, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway. The station is also the nearest station to the town of Taishi where no train station is loca ...

on the

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as and officially Kinki-Nippon Railway, is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railw ...

Kintetsu Minami Osaka Line.

Gallery

File:Tsuho-ji (Habikino), keidai.jpg, Precincts File:Tsuho-ji (Habikino), haka.jpg, Graves of the priests of Tsūhō-ji File:Tomb of Minamoto no Yorinobu.jpg, Minamoto no Yorinobu grave File:Tomb of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi.jpg, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi grave File:Tomb of Minamoto no Yoshiie.jpg, Minamoto no Yoshiie grave

References

External links

Habikino city home page

Habikino City Tourist Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsūhō-ji Buddhist temples in Osaka Prefecture Habikino Kawachi Province Minamoto clan Historic Sites of Japan Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan

Overview

Gallery

See also

References

External links