Kenchō-ji

Infobox Buddhist temple
name = Kōfukuzan Kenchō Kōkoku Zenji

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img_size =
img_capt = Kenchō-ji, the Sanmon
landscape = Yes
denomination = Rinzai, Kenchō-ji school
founded = 1253
closed =
founder = Rankei Doryū
teacher =
director =
roshi =
abbot =
priest =
rinpoche =
reverend =
address = 8, Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa 247-0062
country = flagicon|Japan Japan
phone = 0467-22-0981
website = http://www.kenchoji.com/

Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the "Kamakura Gozan") and is the oldest Zen training monastery in JapanEnglish pamphlet from Kenchō-ji] . These temples were part of the Five Mountain System, established by the Hōjō Regents.

This important temple was constructed on the orders of Emperor Gofukakusa and completed in 1253, fifth year of the Kenchō era, from which it takes its name. It was founded by Rankei Doryū, a Chinese Zen master who moved to Japan in 1246, spending some years in Kyushu and Kyoto before coming to Kamakura.

Kenchō-ji and the shogunate

Kamakura Regent Hōjō Tokiyori was the temple's main patron during its early years. The sponsorship was spiritual (he was close to a Zen master himself) as well as political: the Kamakura Gozan, organization of which this temple was head, had an important role in the shogunate's organization. The system, to which the Ashikaga added a series of five temples in Kyoto called the "Kyoto Gozan", was adopted to promote Zen in Japan however, there as it had already happened in China, it was soon controlled and used by the country's ruling classes for its own administrative and political endsDunn (2007)] . The Gozan system allowed the temples at the top to function as "de facto" ministries, using their nationwide network of temples for the distribution of government laws and norms, and for the monitoring of local conditions for their military superiors. The Hōjō first, and the Ashikaga later were therefore able to disguise their power under a religious mask, while monks and priests worked for the government as translators, diplomats and advisers.

Under their masters' patronage, Kenchō-ji and the Five Mountain temples gradually became centers of learning and developed a characteristic literature called the Japanese Literature of the Five MountainsDumoulin (2005:151-156)] . During the Japanese Middle Ages, its scholars exerted a far-reaching influence on the internal political affairs of the country.

The Gozan system finally declined with the dissolution of the Ashikaga shogunate which had sponsored it. Kenchō-ji's own renaissance came in the 19th century under the guidance of Zen master Aozora Kandō.

Buildings and points of interest

. The temple currently consists of ten subtemples. The most notable buildings include (in order from the first gate):

*The Sōmon (General Gate), where the ticket booths are, which was moved here from the Hanju Zanmai-in temple in Kyoto.
*The Sanmon (Main Gate), built in 1754.
*The Bonshō (Temple Bell), cast in 1255, which is a National Treasure.
*The Butsuden (Buddha Hall), an Important Cultural Property which was moved to Kamakura from Zōjō-ji in Tokyo in 1647.
*The Hattō (Dharma Hall), built in 1814, where public ceremonies are held. It is the largest Buddhist wooden structure in Western Japan.
*The Karamon (Chinese Gate), another Important Cultural Property, was brought here from Zōjō-ji together with the Butsuden.
*The Hōjō (Main Hall), also moved from the Hanju Zanmai-in in Kyoto, used for religious ceremonies.
*The Monastery, where monks are trained in meditation, closed to the public.
* The large Zen garden behind the Hōjō called "Shinji Ike" and which is shaped like the character for nihongo|mind|心.A recent ceiling painting by Koizumi Junsaku (2003) decorates the roof of the Hattō, the building behind the Butsuden.

of 1904-5.

The Hansōbō

Near the end of the temple's garden, over a hill stands the Hansōbō, the temple's large protecting Shinto shrineThe enshrined spirit is the "Hansōbō Daigongen" [Since many centuries ago temples in the entire country adopt tutelary "kami" as protectors. These are enshrined in Shinto shrines built for the purpose. The presence of a Shinto shrine within a Buddhist temple is a manifestation of the syncretic fusion of Shinto and Buddhism that was normal until the Meiji restoration. See the article Shinbutsu shūgō.] . The "gongen" was originally the tutelary spirit (nihongo|chinju|鎮守/鎮主) of Hōkō-ji in Shizuoka and was brought here in 1890 by Aozora KandōKamiya Vol. 2 (2006:24)] . The statues on the stairs leading to the shrine represent Tengu, entities similar to goblins which accompany the "gongen". Some of the creatures have wings and a beak: they are a type of tengu called Karasu-tengu (crow tengu) because of the way they look. On a clear day, from the shrine one can see Mount Fuji to the west, and Sagami bay and Izu Ōshima to the south. The stones in the garden are full of names: they are those of the faithful who donated to the temple, and which used to belong to over 100 different religious organizations. This area used to be the temple's Inner Sanctuary, which still stands among the trees at the very top of the hill and which can be reached going up the steep stairs that begin on the right of the shrine, in front of the Jizōdō. Next to the sanctuary there's an observation deck from which, on clear days, are visible Kamakura, Yuigahama and Mount Fuji.

At the very end of the garden, next to the Hansōbō, on a small hill overlooking a lake stands the Kaishun-inA guide to Kamakura, [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/kenchoji.htm Kenchō-ji] , retrieved on October 3, 2008] . This remote temple was built in 1334 and enshrines a statue of Monju Bosatsu.

The Sanmon Kajiwara Segaki-e

.

The origins of the ceremony are said to go back to the days of DoryūMutsu (1995:107-122)] . The legend says that one day, right after the end of a segaki, (a Buddhist service in favor of suffering spirits) a ghostly figure appeared. Having discovered that the "segaki" was already over, the warrior seemed so sad that the priest repeated the ceremony just for him. Afterwards, the man revealed he was the ghost of Kajiwara Kagetoki.

Notes

References

* cite book
last = Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo
first =
coauthors =
title = Kamakura Kankō Bunka Kentei Kōshiki Tekisutobukku
publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha
date = 2008
location = Kamakura
language = Japanese
id = ISBN 978-4-7740-0386-3
* cite book
last = Mutsu
first = Iso
coauthors =
title = Kamakura. Fact and Legend
publisher = Tuttle Publishing
date = 1995/06
location = Tokyo
language =
id = ISBN 0804819688
* English language pamphlet from Kenchō-ji, October 15, 2008
* [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fa20070823a1.html The Gozan Temples] , by Michael Dunn, The Japan Times, August 23, 2007, retrieved on July 4, 2008
* [http://www.bukkyo.net/5zan/ Kamakura Gozan, Kyoto Gozan] , from "Bukkyō", retrieved on July 4th, 2008
* Citation
last =Dumoulin
first =Heinrich
authorlink=Heinrich Dumoulin
year =2005
title =Zen Buddhism: A History
place =Bloomington, IN
publisher =World Wisdom
volume =2: "Japan"
isbn =0941532909, page 151 and following
* cite book
last = Kamiya
first = Michinori
coauthors =
title = Fukaku Aruku - Kamakura Shiseki Sansaku Vol. 1 & 2
publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha
date = 2008
location = Kamakura
language = Japanese
id = ISBN 4774003409

External links

* [http://www.kenchoji.com/ Official website] ja icon
* [http://zen.rinnou.net/head_temples/04kencho.html Kenchō-ji] , Rinzai-Obaku Zen site
* [http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/kamikaze/monuments/kamakura/index.htm Ohka Monument]