Kenchō-ji

Kenchō-ji Sammon

On the right Butsuden and Hattō
In the background the abbey
behind the Karamon

Founder Rankei Dōryū

The Kenchō-ji ( Japanese 建長寺 ), detailed and with the name of the mountain Kyofukusan Kenchō kōkoku zenji ( 巨福山建長興国 ), is a main Buddhist temple of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen in Kamakura , Kanagawa Prefecture . The temple has about 500 branch temples across Japan.

history

The Kenchō-ji was built in 1253 by the fifth Hōjō - Shikken , Hōjō Tokiyori , with the support of the Go-Fukakusa -tennō and was named after the current government motto Kenchō . At this time, Kamakura was the seat of government of the Kamakura Shogunate and thus de facto the capital of Japan.

At the invitation of Tokiyori and the Go-Saga -tennō, the Chinese Chan monk Lanxi Daolong ( Chinese 蘭溪道隆 , Pinyin Lánxī Dàolóng , W.-G. Lan-hsi Tao-long ; Japanese 蘭渓道隆 , Rankei Dōryū ; 1213– 1278) to the temple and held the position of head of the temple until 1259, when he moved to the Kennin-ji in Kyōto . His successor was Wuan Puning ( 兀菴普寧 , Wùān Pǔníng , Wu-an P'u-ning ; Japanese Gottan Funei; 1197–1276). Lanxi Daolong was again the third head.

The Kenchō-ji housed the Chinese Chan monks Daxiu Zhengnian ( 大休正念 , Dàxiū Zhèngniàn , Ta-hsiu Cheng-nien ; Japanese Daikyū Shōnen; 1214–1289), Wuxue Zuyuan ( 無學祖元 , Wúxué Zǔyuán , Wu-hsüeh Tsu-yüan ; Japanese Mugaku Sogen; 1226–1286), Qingzhuo Zhengcheng ( 淸拙正澄 , Qīngzhuó Zhèngchéng , Ch'ing-cho Cheng-ch'eng .; ; 1274-1339).

Since the Kamakura period , the Kenchō-ji was the first of the Gozan temples in Kamakura, making it one of the most influential temples in all of Japan, although it was destroyed several times by fires and the like. a. Damaged in 1315 and 1414 as well as by the severe earthquake in 1923.

From 1905 the temple was headed by the abbot Sugawara Tokiyasu , who was also the chief of the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai.

The attachment

( ⦿ = national treasure , ◎ = important cultural asset of Japan ) The Kenchō-ji was built into a mountain niche and runs from the entrance in northeast direction. The temple is a typical Zen complex and comprises the following buildings in a central arrangement:

Outside gate ( 総門 , sōmon), also called "Great Fortune Gate" ( 巨福門 ) here. It was originally in the Hanshū-Zammai Temple ( 槃舟三味院 , Hanshū-zammai-in ) in Kyoto.

The ◎ main gate ( 山門 , sammon ) was built in 1754 by Bansetsu, the abbot at the time. An Amida Buddha is set up on the upper floor and is surrounded by the 500 rakan .

In the bell tower ( 鐘楼 , shōrō ) hangs a ⦿ bell ( 梵鐘 , banshō ), which was cast in 1255 and contains an inscription by the temple founder. It weighs 2.7 tons.

Between the Sammon and the Buddha Hall, the path is lined with seven large Chinese juniper trees . These were planted when the temple was founded and are now up to 7 m high and have been designated as a special historical heritage ( 名勝史跡 , meishō shiseki ).

The ◎ Buddha Hall ( 仏殿 , butsuden ) was moved here in 1647 from the Zōjō-ji ( 増上寺 ), an influential temple of Amida Buddhism in Tokyo , where it was part of the burial place of the wife of the shogun Tokugawa Hidetada . The main cult figure is Jizō , the protector of the poor and children. Together with the pedestal, the sculpture is 495.5 cm high. It was probably created after the major fire of 1414 when the original sculpture had to be replaced. Next are Garanjin ( 伽藍神 ), protector seen from temples.

The ◎ teaching hall ( 法堂 , hattō ), dates back to 1814. Originally without a cult figure, a Kannon is now worshiped. The hall is the largest wooden building in eastern Japan.

In front of the abbot's quarters ( 方丈 ) is the ◎ Karamon ( 唐門 ), a gate in the so-called Chinese style, which, like the Buddha hall, comes from the temple grounds of the Zōjō-ji. The Karamon is also called "Gate for the Imperial Messenger" ( 勅使門 , chokushimon ).

The abbot building ( 方丈 ) is also called "Palace of the Dragon King" ( 龍王殿 , Ryūōden ).

Behind the abbot building you can see the garden designed by Rankei, which has been recognized as a special historical heritage. It surrounds a pond in the shape of the character for heart ( 心字池 , shinji-ike ). The pond is also called Sanpekichi ( 蘸碧池 ).

On the edge of the temple area up on the mountain is the small Hansobo shrine ( gel 僧坊 ). He was brought here in 1890 at the request of the abbot Ozora Kandō of the Hōkō-ji in Shizuoka Prefecture . There, Hansobo Gongen is venerated as the protector of the temple.

The monastery buildings, which are located on the southeast side behind a gate, the Shūsanmon ( 嵩山門 ), cannot be visited. There is the Sairai-an ( 西来庵 ) and the hall of the founder, Kaizandō ( 開山堂 ).