Nanzen-ji Temple

Nanzen-ji is the main temple of the Rinzai-shū Nanzen-ji sect. Emperor Kameyama established it in 1291. The temple was destroyed by fire in 1393, 1447, and 1467, rebuilt in 1597, and expanded in the Edo Period. It is a large complex, reaching 300,000 square meters in the Edo Period. The area of Nanzen-ji is a designated a Historic Site and the Hōjō gardens a Place of Scenic Beauty.

Rinzai- shū was founded by Eisai, part of Zen-shū. Of the three Zen sects (Rinzai, Soto, and Obaku), Rinzai dominates Kyoto. Zen temples were set up at various geographic areas in Kyoto. To the west was Tenryu-ji (1339). Shokoku-ji (1392) was to the center of Kyoto. In the northwest was Daitoku-ji, the head temple of Rinzai. In the southeast was Tōfuku-ji and Myoshin-ji. In the east was Nanzen-ji, the main temple of the Rinzai-shū Nanzen-ji sect set up as a large monastery.

The Ashikaga shoguns preferred the Rinzai Zen sect. The Rinzai sect became increasingly powerful and its teaching and practices began expanding past traditional meditation to include secret teachings and incantations from esoteric Buddhism. In Kyoto the head priests joined the aristocracy in literary and artistic pursuits.

The most important development in Buddhism during the Kamakura Era was the expansion of the Gozan (Five Mountains) system, which was creating a hierarchy of temples. Muso Soseki (1275-1351) was appointed abbot of Nanzen-ji in 1325. He was a key figure in the establishment of the Gozan system. As the system developed Nanzen-ji (which was known as First Temple of The Land) was designated as the top in a supervisory role over all others.

Zenkei Shibayama (1894-1974) was an Abbot of Nanzen-ji whose lecture tours to the United States in the 1960s, and the publication of several of his books in English, was a significant contributor to introducing Zen to the United States.

Features

Hōjō (abbot’s quarters) of Nanzen-ji is notable both for its gardens and its art.

Hōjō Garden, built in the 1600s by Kobori Enshu, is an example of karé-sansui (sand and rock style). Its white sand represents the ocean while its rocks and plants represent earthly paradise. The two rocks separated by sand depict a mother tiger with her cub, and is known as Tora-no-ko-watashi (“tiger cub crossing the ocean”). The garden mirrors natural forms and is seventy percent gravel. It has been designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty.

The Hōjō itself, also known as the Seiryo-den, was given to the temple by the Emperor Go-Yōzei. It contains a variety of important screen paintings on gold backgrounds, including two of tigers by Kanō Tan’yū. It has been designated a National Treasure.

The Sammon (main gate) was destroyed in the 1360s and rebuilt in the 1620s to console the souls of those killed in the Summer Siege of Osaka Castle.  Two stories tall, it provides a panoramic view of Kyoto

Shōjō Hall. The Tora-no-ma (Tiger Room) features 39 murals of tigers. The one entitled Mizunomi-no-Tora (Drinking Tiger) was a masterpiece of the Kano school.

Two sub-temples of significance are Konchi-inwhich has one of the few authenticated works by Kobori Enshu, featuring boulders and pines arranged in a tortoise and crane motif and Nanzen-in which occupies the site of Emperor Kameyama’s villa.

Among the famous art works is a portrait of Daruma, the founder of Zen, painted by Shokei (late fifteenth-century). Daruma is a popular subject for artists. With his bushy eyebrows, glaring eyes, and rod, almost comical, face, he is instantly recognizable. His portrait at Nanzen-ji shows him with wispy beard, overhanging eyebrows, and spiky hairs sticking out from nose and ears.