An'yō-in

Infobox Buddhist temple
name = Gionzan An’yō-in Chōraku-ji

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img_size =
img_capt = An'yō-in, Kamakura. The Main Hall
landscape = Yes
denomination = Jōdōshū
founded = 1225
closed = Hōjō Masako
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address = Ōmachi 3-1-22, 248-0007 Kamakura
country = flagicon|Japan Japan
phone = 0467-22-0806
website = None

nihongo|Gionzan An’yō-in Chōrakuji|祇園山安養院長楽寺 is a Jōdō Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Famous for its azaleas, it was named after its founder's (great historical figure Hōjō Masako) posthumous name. The main object of worship is Amida NyōraiJapanese Wikipedia] , but it also enshrines Senju Kannon, Goddess of Mercy. An’yō-in is Number three of the 33 temples of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit.

History

This temple has a complex history and is the result of the fusion of three separate temples called Chōraku-ji, Zendō-ji and Tashiro-ji. It was first opened in 1225 as Chōraku-ji in Hase Sasamegayatsu by Hōjō Masako for her defunct husband Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura shogunateAn'yō-in] . At the time it was a Ritsu sect temple. After being burned to the ground by Nitta Yoshisada's soldiery in 1333 at the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, it was fused with Zendō-ji, moved to this spot and renamed, but it burned again in 1680. It was then once more rebuilt and a Senju Kannon (Thousand-armed Goddess of Mercy) was transferred to it from Tashiro-ji in Hikigayatsu.

Points of interest

The great Chinese black pine in the garden is over 700 years old. Behind the temple there are a hōkyō-intō which is one of Masako's possible graves, and another hōkyō-intō, the oldest in Kamakura, which is an Important Cultural Property. In its small cemetery (closed to the public) rests famous film director Akira Kurosawa [Ozu Yasujiro] .

Notes

References

* [http://accessible.jp.org/kamakura/jp/shrine/YS404.htm Anyoin] ja icon
* Article "An'yō-in", Japanese Wikipedia, accessed on April 2008 ja icon
* [http://www.otsukastone.co.jp/sou/07_03.html Ozu Yasujiro] ja icon