Eigen-ji

35°04′50″N 136°19′12″E / 35.08057°N 136.31992°E / 35.08057; 136.31992ArchitectureFounderSasaki Ujiyori and Jakushitsu GenkōCompleted1361WebsiteOfficial website

Eigen-ji (永源寺) is a Buddhist temple in the Eigenji-Takano neighborhood of the city of Higashiōmi, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is the head temple of one of the 14 autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen

History

Eigen-ji was founded in 1361 by the famous poet and roshi Jakushitsu Genkō under the sponsorship of the shugo of Ōmi Province, Sasaki Ujinori. At its head, the temple had over 2000 priests and 56 chapels on the mountainside. During the Onin War, many priests from the Kyoto Gozan temple sought sanctuary at Eigen-ji; however, the temple burned down in 1492 and again in 1563 and fell into decline afterwards. According to a tradition in Inabe city in Mie Prefecture, a priest from Eigen-ji escaped over the Suzuka Mountains into Ise Province bearing the temple's treasures when the temple was destroyed by Takigawa Kazumasa on orders of Oda Nobunaga in 1570; however, there are no records of such an event at Eigen-ji itself.

During the Edo period, the temple was revived by an abbot named Isshi Bunshu from Myōshin-ji in Kyoto, under the sponsorship of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, his consort Tofukumon-in and Hikone Domain. IN 1873, he joined the Tofuku-ji subject of the Rinzai school, but became an independent branch in 1880.

Present day

Today it is the head temple of the Eigen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen and governs more than 120 temples and one monastery.^[1][2] The temple is a noted spot for hanami in spring, with a variant of the sakura known as the "Eigenji-zakura", and for viewing of maple leaves in the autumn.

Gallery

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  Sanmon

See also

• For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism.
• The 100 Views of Nature in Kansai

References

• Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005). Zen Buddhism: A History. World Wisdom, Inc. ISBN 0-941532-90-9.

External links

Japanese Buddhist architecture

Architectonic elements	hidden roof hisashi irimoya kaerumata: see nakazonae kairō karahafu karesansui kentozuka: see nakazonae komainu katōmado mokoshi moya nakazonae Niō or Kongōrikishi sandō shichidō garan shōrō sōrin tokyō tōrō onigawara
Mon (gates)	karamon nijūmon niōmon rōmon sanmon sōmon torii
Buildings	Chinjusha chōzuya/temizuya -dō main hall (kon-dō, hon-dō, butsuden) kuri kyōzō or kyō-dō shoin
Japanese pagodas	gorintō hōkyōintō hōtō kasatōba sotōba muhōtō tahōtō
Styles	Daibutsuyō Wayō Setchūyō Shoin-zukuri Shin-Wayō Zenshūyō Ōbaku Zen architecture
Others	A-un ken

Schools and objects of worship

Major schools	Jōdo Nichiren Shingon Tendai
Zen schools	Sōtō Ōbaku Rinzai
Nanto rokushū	Jōjitsu Hossō Kusha Kegon Ritsu Sanron
Objects of worship	Amida Nyōrai Benzaiten Dainichi Nyorai Jizō Kannon Marishi-ten Shaka Nyorai Shitennō (Four Kings) Twelve Heavenly Generals (Jūni Shinshō) Yakushi Nyorai

Other elements

Implements	kei (ritual gong) mokugyō
Others	bussokuseki butsudan Glossary of Japanese Buddhism Japanese Buddhist pantheon jingū-ji miyadera saisenbako