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The temple

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{{Short description|Buddhist temple in Nikaidō, Kamakura, Japan}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Kinbyōzan Zuisen-ji
| native_name =
| image = Zuisenji Main Hall Kamakura.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = The [[Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)|Main Hall]] (''Butsuden'')
| map_type =
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| location = 710 Nikaidō, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0002
| coordinates =
| religious_affiliation = [[Rinzai]], [[Engaku-ji]] school
| deity =
| country = Japan
| functional_status =
| website = None
| founded_by = Nikaidō Dōun and [[Musō Soseki]] (founding priest)
| year_completed = 1327
}}
{{nihongo|'''Kinbyōzan Zuisen-ji'''|錦屏山瑞泉寺}} is a [[Buddhist temples in Japan|Buddhist temple]] of the [[Rinzai]] sect in [[Nikaidō]]'s {{nihongo|Momijigayatsu Valley|紅葉ヶ谷|Valley of the Autumn Leaves}} in [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]], Japan.<ref name="kamiya101">Kamiya (2008:98-102)</ref> During the [[Muromachi period]] it was the [[bodaiji|family temple]] of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura (the ''[[Kantō kubō]]''): four of the five ''kubō'' are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public<ref name="kamiya101"/><ref>The exception being the last one, [[Ashikaga Shigeuji|Shigeuji]], who escaped to Koga to become the ''Koga kubō''. See the ''[[Kantō kubō]]'' article.</ref> and first ''kubō'' [[Ashikaga Motouji]]'s is also known by the name {{nihongo|Zuisen-ji-den|瑞泉寺殿}}.<ref name="yasuda">Yasuda (1990:26)</ref> Designed by prominent Zen religious figure, poet and [[Zen garden]] designer [[Musō Soseki]] (also known as Musō Kokushi), the temple lies on top of an isolated hill and is famous for both its garden and its Zen rock garden.<ref name="harada"/> The beauty and the quantity of its plants have gained it since antiquity the nickname {{nihongo|"Temple of Flowers"|花の寺}}.<ref name="kamiya101"/> The main object of worship is [[Ksitigarbha|Jizō Bosatsu]].<ref name="nrct">Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei</ref> Zuisen-ji is an [[Historic Sites of Japan|Historic Site]] and contains numerous objects classified as Important Cultural Properties and [[Cultural Properties of Japan#Monuments|Places of Scenic Beauty]].<ref name="shirai"/>

==History==
Musō Soseki was not only the temple's founding priest, but also its main designer.<ref name="harada">Harada (2007:51–52)</ref> His sponsor, Nikaidō Dōun, was the lord of [[Kai, Yamanashi|Kai]] in today's [[Yamanashi prefecture]], where Musō had spent his youth.<ref name="harada"/> The name of Dōun's family's had originally been [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]], but was later changed to Nikaidō because the family mansion was in Nikaidō.<ref name="kamiya101"/> It is likely that he helped Muso because his temple would be erected in the area that had given its name to his family.<ref name="nrct"/>

Musō, who during his life had the support of powerful figures like [[Emperor Go-Toba]], ninth ''[[shikken]]'' [[Hōjō Sadatoki]] and eleventh [[shikken]] [[Hōjō Takatoki]], chose this present location because he believed it was ideal for a [[Zen]] temple.<ref name="harada"/> In 1326 he moved from a temple called Nanpō-in near [[Engaku-ji]] to the Momijigayatsu Valley to direct the construction work.<ref name="nrct"/> Founded in 1327 with the name {{nihongo|Zuisen-in|瑞泉院}}, Zuisen-ji in its first version, completed in 1328, consisted of a temple to goddess [[Kannon]] (a ''Kannonden''), a belvedere (the {{nihongo|''Henkai Ichirantei''|遍界一覧亭}}) and a Zen garden.<ref name="nrct"/> After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333 Zuisen-ji came under the protection of the Ashikaga family.<ref name="shirai">Shirai (1976:169)</ref> First ''[[Kantō kubō]]'' Ashikaga Motouji, son of [[Ashikaga Takauji]], chose to be buried in it, thus starting a tradition.<ref name="shirai"/> It was during that period and under his sponsorship that the name was changed and the temple assumed its finished form.<ref name="harada"/> In 1386 it was nominated first of the [[Kamakura Gozan#The Jissetsu|Kantō Jissetsu]], a group of temples second in power only to the [[Five Mountain System]].<ref name="shirai"/> At the peak of its power it had several subtemples, including one dedicated to Ashikaga Takauji's mother and another to Ashikaga Motouji, but none of them has survived.<ref name="shirai"/> Zuisen-ji as a whole was an important center of development of the [[Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains|Literature of the Five Mountains]], and figures like [[Gidō Shūshin]] lived and worked here.<ref name="kamiya101"/>

During the Edo period [[Tokugawa Mitsukuni]] had the temple restored and donated a wooden statue of Thousand-armed Kannon, Goddess of Mercy, meant to be housed in the belvedere as Zuisen-ji's main object of worship.<ref name="shirai"/> The [[Shinpen Kamakurashi]], a 1685 guide book to Kamakura commissioned by Mitsukuni which had great impact on the city's history, was written at the belvedere<ref>Kamakura Green Net, [http://guide.city.kamakura.kanagawa.jp/eng/stroll/scene/zuisen.htm Zuisen-ji temple] accessed on November 23, 2008</ref> by Kawai Tsunehisa, Matsumura Kiyoyuki and Rikiishi Tadakazu.<ref name="taka20">Takahashi (2005:20)</ref>

The original building has, like the others, been lost, but the statue survives and is housed in the main hall of the temple.<ref name="shirai"/>

==Features==
[[File:Butsuden Garden Zuisenji.jpg|thumb|left|The Zen rock garden with the lake and the [[Butsuden]]]]

===Yōan-ji===
The narrow road that turns right before the ticket counter leads to a [[stele]] marking the spot where a temple called {{nihongo|Yōan-ji|永安寺}} used to stand.<ref name="kamiya101"/> It was there that fourth kubō [[Ashikaga Mochiuji]], who had rebelled against the shogunate, in 1439 made his last stand against ''[[shōgun]]'' [[Ashikaga Yoshinori]]'s forces, finally disemboweling himself to avoid the shame of being taken prisoner.<ref name="kamiya101"/> He is buried together with three other ''kubō'' in a small cemetery within Zuisen-ji (closed to the public).<ref name="kamiya101"/> The stele reads:<ref>Original Japanese text available [http://images.google.co.jp/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kcn-net.org/sisekihi/images/77-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kcn-net.org/sisekihi/youan.htm&usg=__XQmyScyOs7WZoQlJ4EQ1VytMBy8=&h=320&w=240&sz=25&hl=en&start=12&um=1&tbnid=05iHxK8YdnSMMM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%25E6%25B0%25B8%25E5%25AE%2589%25E5%25AF%25BA%25E3%2580%2580%25E6%258C%2581%25E6%25B0%258F%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN here]</ref>

<blockquote>
When ''Kantō kubō'' [[Ashikaga Ujimitsu]] died on January 11, 1398,<ref>[[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian date]] obtained directly from the original [[Nengō]] ([[Ōei]] 5, 4th day of the 11th month) using [https://uni-tuebingen.de/geschichte-japans/nengo_calc.htm Nengocalc] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014735/http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/geschichte-japans/nengo_calc.htm |date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> he was given the [[posthumous name]] {{nihongo|Yōanji Hekizan Zenkō|永安寺壁山全公}}. His son [[Ashikaga Mitsukane|Mitsukane]] built this temple giving it his father's posthumous name. The temple's ''[[oshō]]'' Dombo Ushūō was a follower of Musō Soseki. On March 24, 1439<ref>Gregorian date obtained directly from the original [[Nengō]] ([[Eikyō]] 11, 10th day of the 2nd month) using [https://uni-tuebingen.de/geschichte-japans/nengo_calc.htm Nengocalc] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014735/http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/geschichte-japans/nengo_calc.htm |date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> ''kubō'' Mochiuji, descendant of Ujimitsu, fought here against ''shōgun'' Yoshinori, was defeated and disemboweled himself. The temple was burned and never rebuilt. This is where it stood.<br />
Erected by the Kamakuramachi Seinendan in March 1926
</blockquote>

===Temple===
The path to the temple then starts to climb the hill and divides in two. The path to the right is the original one built by Musō Soseki, and at its beginning stands a brown stone stele that remembers the fact (see photo).<ref name="kamiya101"/>

[[File:Zuisenji Stele Kamakura.jpg|thumb|The stele at the beginning of Musō Soseki's old road]]
The temple's compound is now relatively small and its buildings are all new, with the exception of the {{nihongo|''kyakuden''|客殿|reception hall}}, which was built during the early [[Edo period]] and was brought here from [[Yokohama]]'s {{nihongo|Kinzō-in|金蔵院}} in 1963.<ref name="shirai"/> The ''Henkai Ichirantei'', the belvedere originally built by Musō Soseki from where one can see [[Mount Fuji]], is out of sight in the back, beyond the Zen rock garden, and is closed to visitors.<ref name="harada"/><ref>Visible in Google Earth: {{coord|35|19|38.81|N|139|34|33.82|E|region:JP_type:landmark_scale:1500|display=inline}}</ref>

Behind the temple there's a group of about 80 ''[[yagura (tombs)|yagura]]'', which are tombs typical of Kamakura consisting in caves dug in the rock. The group is known as the {{nihongo|Zuisen-ji ''Yagura'' Group|瑞泉寺やぐら群}}.<ref name="shirai"/>

Behind the main hall, the Zen rock garden was designed by Musō Soseki and consists of a pond with an arched bridge, a waterfall, a small island and a cave.<ref name="shirai"/> It used to be surrounded by plants, but they were removed in 1969 to create the present landscape, which is faithful to the original blueprints.<ref name="harada"/> The stairs visible in its background go to the Ichirantei. The garden is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty.<ref name="shirai"/> The extreme simplicity of the Zen garden contrasts with the garden in front of the main hall, which is considered the most beautiful in Kamakura.<ref name="harada"/>

The temple's cemetery houses the tombs of many famous men of letters and intellectuals.<ref name="kamiya101"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book | last = Harada | first = Hiroshi| title = Kamakura no Koji | publisher = JTB Publishing
| date = 2007 | language = ja | isbn = 978-4-533-07104-1}}
* {{cite book | last = Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo | title = Kamakura Kankō Bunka Kentei Kōshiki Tekisutobukku | publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha | date = 2008 | location = Kamakura | language = ja | isbn = 978-4-7740-0386-3}}
* {{cite book | last = Kamiya | first = Michinori | title = Fukaku Aruku — Kamakura Shiseki Sansaku Vol. 1 & 2| publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha| date = 2008 | location = Kamakura| language = ja | isbn = 978-4-7740-0340-5 | oclc = 169992721}}
*{{cite book | author = Mansfield, Stephen |title = Japan's Master Gardens - Lessons in Space and Environment | location = Tokyo, Rutland, Singapore | publisher = Tuttle| year = 2011 | type = Hardback| isbn=978-4-8053-1128-8}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.japanknowledge.com |title=Zuisenji|last={{nihongo|Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei|日本歴史地名大係}}, online version|publisher=Heibonsha |language=ja |access-date=2009-02-01}}
* {{cite book|last=Shirai| first=Eiji | title=Kamakura Jiten |publisher=Tōkyōdō Shuppan | date=1976 |isbn=4-490-10303-4
|language=ja}}
* {{cite book|isbn=4-634-54210-2 |author=Shin'ichirō Takahashi |year=2005 |publisher=Yamakawa Shuppansha
|location = Tokyo |title=Buke no koto, Kamakura |language=ja}}
*{{cite book | editor-last = Yasuda | editor-first = Motohisa | title = Kamakura, Muromachi Jinmei Jiten
| publisher = Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha | date = 1990 | location = Tokyo
| isbn = 978-4-404-01757-4 | oclc = 24654085}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Zuisen-ji (Kamakura)}}
*[http://lasur.epfl.ch/revue/A&C%20Vol%209%20No.2/JOHNSON.pdf Zen Buddhist Landscapes and the Idea of Temple: Muso Kokushi and Zuisen-Ji, Kamakura, Japan], by Norris Brock Johnson
*[http://kamakuratrip.net/ezuisenji.html ''Kamakura Trip'' website] "Zuisenji Temple" page (in English)

{{Coord|35|19|37.19|N|139|34|30.92|E|region:JP_type:landmark_scale:1500|display=title}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Buddhist temples in Japan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa]]

Zuisen-ji - Revision history

imported>Logoshimpo: /* The temple */