Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji (永観堂禅林寺) is the head temple for the Seizan branch of Japan's Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) Buddhist sect, located in Kyoto, Sakyō-ku. It was founded by Shinshō, a pupil of Kūkai, and is famous for its fall foliage and for its prominence in the past as a center of learning.
The temple is commonly referred to as either just "Eikan-dō" (永観堂, "View of Eternity Hall" or "Hall of Yōkan"[1]) or "Zenrin-ji" (禅林寺, "Temple of Forest of Zen"). However, it also has two other names. "Shōju-raigō-san" (聖衆来迎山) translates roughly to "Mountain where the saints welcome you", while "Muryōsu-in" (無量寿院) means roughly "Temple of Immeasurable Life".
History
The temple got its start when Kūkai's pupil, the monk Shinshō, aspired to found a temple for the worship of the Gochi Nyorai, or Five Wisdom Buddhas. In 853, he purchased the mansion of Fujiwara no Sekio for this purpose. The construction of temples was forbidden in Kyoto at the time, however, and so it was not until ten years later, when formal Imperial approval was granted by Emperor Seiwa, that the Zenrin-ji was formally founded.
A bathroom, akin to a modern sauna
Though originally devoted to the Shingon sect, beginning in the time of Yōkan (永観, 1033-1111), the seventh head monk, the temple began to shift towards Jōdo-shū, a sect formally established roughly a century later in 1175. Yōkan had trained in a number of temples of different disciplines in Nara, and was a passionate devotee of the Amida Buddha. In 1072, he established a Yakuō-in (薬王院) on the grounds, which organized giving to the needy and caring for the ill. He also introduced the practice of Nenbutsu, a Chinese practice which was quite new in Japan, into the temple, and cultivated its observance among the monks and devotees.
Zenrin-ji has grown famous for its unusual statue of the Amida Buddha, which looks over its shoulder, rather than straight ahead. In Japanese this is called the Mikaeri Amida. According to tradition, at one point in 1082, when Yōkan was fifty, he and a number of monks were practicing a ritual, walking around the statue and reciting sutras when the statue of Amida came to life and stepped down from its dais. Yōkan halted the ritual in surprise; the Buddha looked over its shoulder at the monk, and said to him, "Yōkan you are slow". Ever since then, goes the story, the posture of this statue has remained in that position. Alternate versions of the story involve the Buddha joining the monks in a ritual dance.
The twelfth head of the temple, Jōhen (1166-1224), originally a Shingon monk like the rest at Zenrin-ji, was a disciple of Hōnen, one of the founders of Jōdo-shū; Jōhen was thus the first head of Zenrin-ji to be a formal devotee of this emerging sect. He was succeeded as head monk by Shōkū (1177-1247), and it was under Shōkū's successor, Shōon (1201-1271), that the temple formally became devoted to Jōdo-shū.
Grounds
The Founder's Hall
The Zenrin-ji compound is nestled in Kyoto's Eastern Mountain (Higashiyama), and its buildings, most of them connected by covered walkways and staircases, are scattered among a range of heights.
Main gate - the Kōrai-mon (高麗門) is named after the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo (Kōrai in Japanese). The current structure dates from the late Edo period (mid-19th century).
Inner gate - the Yakui-mon (薬医門), along with the Kōrai-mon, derive from the fortress gates that would have surrounded the aristocratic mansion before it became a temple. Their placement and architecture are said to still reflect these origins today. The current structure dates to 1744.
Founder's Hall (御影堂, Goe-dō) - enshrines and honors Hōnen, the founder of Jōdo-shū. The current structure was completed in 1912, and is larger than the Amida Hall.
Amida Hall (阿弥陀堂, Amida-dō) - the famous Amida statue which is the central object of worship for the temple, is enshrined here. The hall is seated higher on the mountain than the Founder's Hall; the current structure was built at the beginning of the 17th century.
Tahōtō - the temple's tower is situated at the highest point in the compound, and offers the greatest view of the scenery. The current structure was completed in 1928.
Zen Chief Priests' Chamber (方丈, Hōjō) - despite Zenrin-ji's name, it is not a temple of Zen Buddhism; nevertheless, the compound includes this priests' chamber in the Zen style. Its construction is said to have been ordered by Emperor Go-Kashiwabara (r. 1500-1526), but was not built until the Edo period.
Treasures
Descent of Amitabha over the Mountain or Yamagoe no Amida (山越えの阿弥陀), a cultural treasure from Eikando Temple. Note the seed syllable "a" for Amida on the upper-left.
The wooden Amida statue is 77cm in height, and though for a long time believed to date from the Kamakura period (1185-1333), is now thought to have been carved somewhat earlier in the 12th century (Heian period, 794-1185). This change in dating came about with the comparison to Song dynasty (960-1279) sculptures in Sichuan Province which show strong similarities in style. Zenrin-ji's Amida statue was formally named an Important Cultural Property in 1999.
Fall Foliage - Impressions
The temple is famous for its fall foliage and highly frequented by locals and tourists alike.
See also
For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism.
This article is derived largely from the corresponding one on the Japanese Wikipedia.
↑ Though the characters 「永観」 are typically read as Eikan, this name actually derives from that of the seventh head of the temple, Yōkan, who wrote his name with those same characters.
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This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk (*) are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries. Within definitions, words set in boldface are defined elsewhere in the glossary.
Japanese Buddhist architecture is the architecture of Buddhist temples in Japan, consisting of locally developed variants of architectural styles born in China. After Buddhism arrived from the continent via the Three Kingdoms of Korea in the 6th century, an effort was initially made to reproduce the original buildings as faithfully as possible, but gradually local versions of continental styles were developed both to meet Japanese tastes and to solve problems posed by local weather, which is more rainy and humid than in China. The first Buddhist sects were Nara's six Nanto Rokushū, followed during the Heian period by Kyoto's Shingon and Tendai. Later, during the Kamakura period, in Kamakura were born the Jōdo and the native Japanese sect Nichiren-shū. At roughly the same time, Zen Buddhism arrived from China, strongly influencing all other sects in many ways, including in architecture. The social composition of Buddhism's followers also changed radically with time. Beginning as an elite religion, it slowly spread from the nobility to warriors and merchants, and finally to the population at large. On the technical side, new woodworking tools like the framed pit saw and the plane allowed new architectural solutions.
Pagodas in Japan are called tō, sometimes buttō or tōba, and derive historically from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian stupa. Like the stupa, pagodas were originally used as reliquaries, but in many cases ended up losing this function. Pagodas are quintessentially Buddhist and an important component of Japanese Buddhist temple compounds but, because until the Kami and Buddhas Separation Act of 1868, a Shinto shrine was normally also a Buddhist temple and vice versa, they are not rare at shrines either. The famous Itsukushima Shrine, for example, has one. After the Meiji Restoration the word tō, once used exclusively in a religious context, came to mean also "tower" in the western sense, as for example in Eiffel Tower.
Dō. It is very often used in Japanese Buddhism as a suffix in the name of some of the many buildings that can be part of a Japanese temple compound. The suffix can be the name of a deity associated with it or express the building's function within the temple's compound.
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