Honnō-ji

Main hall

The Honnō-ji ( Japanese 本能寺 ) is a temple of Nichiren Buddhism in the city of Kyoto . The temple is best known for the Honnōji Incident - the seppuku of Oda Nobunaga forced by Akechi Mitsuhide in 1582.

history

The temple was laid out in 1415 as the main temple of the Honmon Hokke Shū , one of the oldest schools of Nichiren Buddhism, by Nichiryū ( 日隆 ), the temple initially being written 本応寺 with the same reading . In 1429 he was relocated to an abandoned part of the Imperial Palace ( 内野Uchino ) , supported by the merchant Kosodeya Sōku ( 小袖屋宗句 ) . In 1433, at the request of Nyoi Ōmaru ( 如意王丸 ), the name was now written as 本能寺 and the large hexagonal hall ( 六角大宮Rokkaku daigū ) was built. In 1536 the temple burned down in connection with the uprising of the citizens who professed Nichiren Buddhism and was moved to Sakai . Nisshō ( 日承 ) led the temple back to Kyōto in 1545, now to Shijō Nishi-no-tōin ( 四条西洞院 ). There, in 1582, Oda Nobunaga was surprised by Akechi Mitsuhide, who was reaching for power, whereupon Nobunaga committed seppuku in a hopeless situation.

With the construction of a new temple city by Toyotomi Hideyoshi , the temple was moved to its current location. Most of the temple burned down in 1864 in connection with the uprising at the Hamaguri Gate . In the following years, however, it was gradually rebuilt.

investment

The entrance gate ( 総門 Sōmon ), which originally belonged to Kyōmei-in ( 恭明院 ), was moved to its current location in 1880. - The main hall ( 本堂 Hondō ) was rebuilt in the traditional Japanese style in 1928 by the architect Amanuma Shun'ichi ( 天沼俊一 ; 1874–1947). It has an almost square floor plan with a side length of 5 × 5 Ken (9 × 9 m). It has an irimoya roof, is tiled and has a protruding roof over the entrance 3 ken (5.5 m) wide at the front.

South of the main hall are the seven "daughter temples" ( 子院 shiin ): the Gemmyō-in ( 源明院 ), Hongyō-in ( 本行院 ), Kōshun-in ( 高俊院 ), Jōshō-in ( 定性院) ), Renshō-in ( 蓮承院 ) Keishō-in ( 恵昇院 ) and the Ryūun-in ( 龍雲院 ). Of these, only the latter survived the fire of 1864, the others were rebuilt between 1918 and 1928. They are each located on a plot of land 6 ken (11 m) wide, have a front of 4 ken (7 m) and a depth of 6 ken (11 m).

The Nobunaga Shrine ( 信長廟 Nobunaga-byō ) is on the east side of the main hall .

Treasures

Among the rich temple is a scroll that from the Heian period comes and Fujiwara no Yukinari attributed. This Fujiwara no Yukinari hitsu shokan ( 藤原行成筆書巻 ) is registered as a national treasure. Bronze mirror ( 銅鏡 dōkyō ) from the Kamakura period , writings by Emperor Hanazono from the time of the Separate Courts are registered as important cultural assets .