Jufuku-ji

Infobox Buddhist temple
name = Kikokuzan Kongō Jufuku Zenji

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img_size = 250
img_capt = Jufuku-ji, Kamakura - The Main Gate
landscape = Yes
denomination = Rinzai
founded = 1200
closed =
founder = Hōjō Masako, Eisai
teacher =
director =
roshi =
abbot =
priest =
rinpoche =
reverend =
address = 17-7 Ogigayatsu 1-chome, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0011
country = flagicon|Japan Japan
phone = 0467-22-6607
website = Nonenihongo|Kikokuzan Kongō Jufuku-ji Zenji|亀谷山金剛寿福禅寺, usually known simply as Jufuku-ji, is a temple of the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai sect and the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It's ranked third among Kamakura's prestigious Five Mountains, it's number 24 among the nihongo|Thirty-Three Kamakura Kannon|鎌倉三十三観音|Kamakura Sanjūsan Kannon pilgrimage temples and number 18 of the nihongo|Kamakura Nijūyon Jizō|鎌倉二十四地蔵 temples. The main object of worship is Sakyamuni.

History

The temple was founded by Hōjō Masako (1157-1225), a great historical figure familiar enough to the Japanese to appear on television "jidaigeki" dramas, in order to enshrine her husband, Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura shogunate who died prematurely in 1199. Having chosen this site for the temple because it used to be Yoritomo's father's residence, she invited Buddhist priest Myōan Eisai to be the founding priest. Eisai is important in the history of Zen because it was he who, after being ordained in China, introduced it to Japan. He is also known for introducing green tea to the country. Ostracized by the Tendai sect in Kyoto because of the new ideas he had introduced there after coming back from China, Eisai agreed to come to Kamakura, where he was to stay and have great religious influence. Among the famous Zen masters that were active at Jufuku-ji are nihongo|Enni Bennen|円爾弁円 (1202–1280), who was invited to come here in 1257 by Hōjō Tokiyori, and the Chinese Rankei Dōryū (chin. 蘭溪道隆, Lánxī Dàolóng, W.-G. Lan-hsi Tao-long; 1213–1278).

Although very small now, in its heyday the temple used to have as many as 14 subtemples. Its main hall, which constitutes the bulk of its compound now, is closed to the public and can be seen only from the inner gate. Over the centuries, the main hall burned down many times so that, in spite of the temple's great age, the present one dates only to the period between 1751 and 1763. Inside it are three statues of Shakyamuni which are the main abject of worship. There are also a statue of Eleven-Headed Kannon and two enormous statues of the Deva Kings or Niō, brought here from Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū at the time of the mandatory separation of Shinto and Buddhism (Shinbutsu Bunri), in 1872.

The Graveyard

In the temple's vast graveyard behind the main hall, inside caves called yagura, are buried all the chief priests of the temple. Two "yagura" are dedicated to Hōjō Masako and her son Minamoto no Sanetomo, who was assassinated while still young by a cousin on the stairs of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Masako and Sanetomo's ashes are not actually there, though, because they were put in a temple, the Chōshōjū-in, that no longer exist and are therefore lost.

Among the other graves can be found not only those of Japanese celebrities like haiku poet Takahama Kiyoshi and novelist Osaragi Jirō, but also those of some foreigners, among them Countess Iso Mutsu (1867-1930). Born Gertrude Ethel Passingham, this British woman married a Japanese nobleman and diplomat, came with him to Japan in 1910 and lived in Kamakura until her death in 1930. In 1918 she wrote the classic guide "Kamakura: Fact and Legend".

References

This article contains material retrieved from Japanese Wikipedia's article 寿福寺 ("Jufuku-ji") and German Wikipedia's article "Jufuku-ji", both accessed on March 28, 2008. The rest of the material comes from the following source:
* [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/jufukuji.htm A guide to Kamakura, Jufukuji"] accessed on March 23, 2008