Avoid the crowds and find peace and quiet in the middle of summer! Don't Miss Kyoto Monastery Tour

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📝 Origin of Monmouth Temple

Monzen temples are those in which members of the imperial family or court nobles are the abbots. Originally, the term “menkyo” referred to the official successor of Buddhism in Japan, and the first temple in Japan to be called a menkyo was Renwaji Temple in Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City.

It began in 899, the 2nd year of Shotai in the Heian Period, when Emperor Uda abdicated his throne and entered Renwa-ji Temple, which he called Gomuro Gosho, later renamed Gomuro Monzukuri, and later recognized as a Shingon Sect temple with a member of the Imperial family as its abbot, which was the predecessor of the later “Monzukuri temples”.

From the beginning of the Kamakura period, when the samurai class was in power, many of the heirs of the royal family and court nobles had to enter certain temples to practice Buddhism because they were not as wealthy as they were in the Heian period.

Because of the lack of medical care, these royals would have concubines in addition to their legitimate wives in order to continue their lineage, so as to avoid sudden changes that would cause the family line to be cut off. However, when there were too many heirs, the burden of training and marrying was too heavy, so they could only let those heirs who did not inherit the family business become monks, and then when there was a change in the family's heir, they would choose a new heir from among the heirs who had become monks to return to secularism and inherit the family business. This provided the basis for the development of the Monastery.

In the Muromachi period, the Muromachi Shogunate formalized the Monastery as a temple, and established the Monastery Bunkyo, a department in charge of matters related to the Monastery. At this time, the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu ordered most of his heirs to become monks in order to cut off their bloodline and prevent them from being hunted down.

As Buddhism flourished, there was a great expansion of temples, and at that time, Japanese temples had some privileges such as tax exemptions, so the construction of temples became a means of expanding the tie of the privileged class, and eventually the feudal temple estate economy, which is unique to Japan, appeared.

During the Edo period, the Edo Shogunate categorized the “Monji” into “Miyamonji” (temples where princes resided), “Sokkaimonji” (temples where the sons of regent families were initiated), “Seika Monji” (temples where the Seika Kochin family was the abbot), “Kobata Monji” (temples where the samurai class was initiated), and “Quasi-Monji” (temples where the samurai class was initiated), “Seika-monji” (temples where the Kochin family of Seika was the abbot), ‘Kougata-monji’ (temples where the samurai class became monks), and ‘Wakamonji’ (also known as Wakimonji). However, after the Meiji Restoration, these classifications were abolished by the official government, and the term “kadoji temple” was only allowed to be used privately. However, the deep connection with the imperial family can still be seen in these “Monzenjiin” today.

🤗 Renwaji Temple

Renwaji Temple, a World Heritage Site, has a very high status as a gate temple in Kyoto. For more than 1,000 years, from the Heian period until the 1930s, a member of the Imperial family was the “head of the temple”.

In the second year of the Renwa period (886), construction of the temple was begun at the request of Emperor Mitsuko, who died soon afterward, and it was not until the fourth year of the Renwa period (888) that Emperor Uta, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, became a monk, and in 899, as Kanehira Hōkō, became the first Abbot of Renwa-ji Temple.

Among the many monastic temples, Renwaji Temple is the only one where the emperor himself became the first monastic monk.

One of the characteristics of Renwaji Temple as a monastic temple is that there is an “omuro” located in the southwestern part of the temple hall. Originally, the word “muro” was used to refer to a place where monks lived, but the word “gomuro” was added because it was attached to the imperial family and other nobles.

Emperor Kanpei built and moved the Imperial Household in 904, and later built the Imperial Palace where large-scale ceremonies were held, the Gyokuden where the Emperor later visited, and the Garden and Shoin buildings for entertaining honored guests. The complex of these “imperial chambers” is called “Renwaji Gosho”.

The “Chen-den” is one of the landmarks of the Monastery. “Chen” refers to the place where the emperor lived, and some of them, such as the ‘Chen-den’ of Daigaku-ji Temple, were granted directly from the imperial palace. The “Chen-den” of Renwaji Temple was destroyed by fire in 1887 and then rebuilt in the 20th century.

Another attraction of the Monzenji Temple is the garden. These gardens were once used for entertaining guests, so they are maintained by specialists and the scenery is very different from that of the gardens of ordinary temples. In the south garden of Renwaji Temple, surrounded by white sand, there are cherry blossoms on the left and mandarin oranges on the right, just like those in the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. In the North Garden, which was built in the Edo Period (1603-1867), the “Five-storied Pagoda” and the tea room, “Hidotei-tei,” blend in perfectly with the garden, making it the best place to take photographs in the garden.

As we walk around Renwaji Temple, we will also see chrysanthemum motifs everywhere, which is also a symbol of the Japanese Imperial family. The first emperor to use the chrysanthemum motif was the abdicated Emperor Goto Toba in the Kamakura period. At Renwakuji Temple, chrysanthemum motifs are used extensively in the decoration of the Golden Hall, and they are also printed on the covers of the Goshujujin books.

In Kyoto, five white horizontal lines are painted on the earthen walls of monastic temples, which are called “Suji-Tunnel” and indicate the standard of the temple. In the case of Renwaji Temple, the five lines of “Suji” indicate that Renwaji Temple, which is closely related to the imperial family, is the highest among the monastic temples.

🤗 Daikokuji Temple

Daikokuji Temple, located in the Sagano district of Kyoto, is the main temple of the Daikokuji sect of the Shingon Buddhism, a temple that was converted from Emperor Saga's palace, Saga Shrine, in 876, and a monumental temple in which successive emperors and members of the royal family have served as abbots.

Daijakuji Temple honors Kukai, the master of Buddhism, as its founder, and the Prajna Shingo, which was written by Emperor Saga under the guidance of Kukai to pray for the end of the epidemic, is still enshrined in the temple (open every 60 years), making Daijakuji Temple the fundamental dojo for the copying of the Prajna Shingo.

Inside the temple, there is the “Tatsukuden”, which was used by the daughter of Hidetada, the second shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and contains the important cultural assets “Peony” and “Red Plum” painted by Kano Yamaraku, a descendant of the Kano school.

Osawa Pond, which extends to the east of the temple, is the oldest garden pond in Japan, and was built in the Heian Period as part of the garden pond in the “Saga-en,” the Imperial Palace built by Emperor Saga, and was named “Tinghu” because it was modeled after the Dongting Lake in China.

In addition to the cherry blossoms in spring and the red leaves in fall, Osawa Pond is also famous for moonlight boating, and every year on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a moonlight viewing tea party is held here. On the north side of Osawaike Pond is the site of “Nakuso Falls,” which is the site of a poem written by Fujiwara Kōzen in “Hyakuninshi” (“One Hundred People”), in which he wrote, “Even though the sound of the waterfalls has passed away, you can still hear the name of the waterfalls. “The ruins of “Nakuso Falls” are now located in the waterfall garden of the Saga Garden, a former imperial palace, but the water has long since dried up, and only a few bare stones remain.

At the beginning of the Heian Period, Emperor Saga folded chrysanthemums blooming on Kikushima Island and put them in a vase, which is why Daikoku-ji Temple is the birthplace of the Kyoto Flower Ceremony “Saga Goryu”.

🤗 Aoren-en Temple

Seiren-in, also known as Awata Gosho, located in Higashiyama, Kyoto, is one of the three main monumental temples of the Tendai Sect's Yamamoto School, along with Myogyo and the present-day Ohara Sanchonin. Originally, Aoren-en was called Aoren-bo, which was a temple for monks in Hiruzen, and is said to have housed high priests such as Kichijo and Ennin.

It was upgraded to a monastic temple at the end of the Heian period when Gyokensen Daishonin Masa of Seiren-in took the seventh son of Emperor Toba as his disciple. It was also used as a temporary imperial palace during the Edo period. The original building of Seiren-in was destroyed in various disasters, and today's buildings have been rebuilt in the traditional style.

The part of Cheongryun-in that is open to the public today is the Hwajeongjeon, which is a Shoin-style building. Inside, there are 60 paintings on the sliding door of the barrier, depicting “Lotus Flower and Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss,” which is based on the scene of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the Amitabha Sutra. “Outside the Hwajoden, there is a large pond and spring garden, which was created by Aya Sagami, one of the most famous garden makers of the Muromachi period.

The garden is centered around the Ryushin Pond, which is crossed by a small stone bridge and ends at a small waterfall called “Washin”. Another garden in the temple is the Kirishima Garden, created by Kobori Enshu, which offers different scenery throughout the seasons, and if you visit in early May, you can see azaleas all over the garden.

🤗 Sanzen-in Temple

Sanzen-in Temple, located in Ohara, a suburb of Kyoto, is also one of the three great monumental temples of the Tendai sect. It was originally called Enryakuin, a large hall built next to a large pear tree in the south valley of the east tower when the Venerable Master Mitsumoto founded Enryaku-ji Temple in Mt. Hiruzen, and it became a Monmonk's Monastery after that until 1118, when a royal heir entered the temple for the first time.

Because it is located in the Kajii area, it is also called “Kajii Gate Trail”. However, the original site was unfortunately destroyed in the war, and after the Ehito Rebellion, it was relocated to the present-day Ohara area, and was renamed Sanzen-in Temple in the Meiji era.

The name “Sanzen” is taken from the Tendai sect's teaching, “Ichinen Sanzen,” which refers to the fact that everything in the world exists in a single thought. Today, the wooden statue of Amida Nyorai enshrined in the temple and the statues of his attendants on either side are important national cultural properties of Japan.

If you want to experience the solemnity, quietness and sophistication of Kyoto's temples all at once, you don't have to hesitate to go directly to Ohara's Sanzen-in Temple. There are two gardens in Sanzen-in, both of which are designated as scenic spots by Kyoto City. One of them, Jubi-en, is a garden for appreciating ponds and springs, which was built by Kim Morimune, a military general and tea master at the beginning of the Edo period, and the other one, Arisen-en, is a garden for visiting ponds and springs, which is covered with mosses and surrounded by cedars and cypresses. The other, “Arisen Garden,” is a garden with a pond and spring, covered with moss and surrounded by cedars and cypresses.

Along the road leading to the Kosei Jorakuin, you can see a number of cute and small Jizo Bodhisattvas by the sculptor Takashi Sugimura, hidden amongst the moss. If you visit in early summer, the garden is full of greenery, and in front of the Golden Fudo you can see colorful purple sunflowers, making you feel like you are in a pure land.

🤗 Seigakuin Temple

The history of Seigakuin dates back to the 4th year of Kanji (1090), when the temple was given the name “Seigakuin” to Masaru Daishonin, who served as a guide for Emperor Shirakawa's visit to the Kumano region, and “guarded the sacred body”. The temple was later moved to various parts of Kyoto due to war and fire, but was rebuilt on the present site in 1676.

Since its foundation, Seigakuin has had close ties with the royal family, with members of the royal family or Buddhist regents serving as abbots, making it one of the three main monumental temples of the Tendai Sect's Teramon sect. On the other hand, Seigakuin is also the head temple of the Shugenji Sect of Tendai Sect, which advocates the practice of enlightenment in the fields and mountains.

Since it is a Monzenji Temple, there are many precious treasures left in the Sacred Protectorate. Among them, there is a collection of about 200 Konpiku murals painted by Kano Nagana and Kano Ikushin under the Kano school. From the main entrance of the main hall to the sliding door barriers on the upper floors, works on the themes of flowers and birds, Chinese sages, magnificent landscapes and folk tales are painted, proving that this is a temple that has been famous since ancient times.

The main statue of Seigakuin is the Fudo Myojin statue, which is an important cultural property of Kyoto City and has survived many fires. The statue of Fudo Myojin, who is seen holding a sword in his right hand and a rope in his left hand, has curly hair and a bun on the top of his head, and is modeled in a lifelike manner.

💡

Summer in Kyoto is not an ideal time to visit from a climatic point of view, as Kyoto is located in the basin and surrounded by mountains, it is always humid and hot. However, the breeze of the swaying maples and the moss covered with dewdrops of verdure, forming a touch of refreshing green, can always make people relaxed and forget to return. Visiting Kyoto at a time when the spring cherry blossoms are gone and the fall foliage is still young, you can avoid the noisy crowds. You may be able to find a moment of inner peace in these nearly 1,000 year old monasteries and temples.