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{{Infobox Buddhist temple
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Taizōzan Kannon-in Sugimoto-dera
| name = Sugimoto-dera
| native_name =
| img = Sugimotodera,-Main-Hall,-Kamakura.jpg
| image = Sugimotodera, Main Hall 001.jpg
| img_size =
| image_size =
| img_capt = The [[Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)|Main Hall]] (Hon-dō)
| alt =
| mountain = Taizōzan
| caption = The [[Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)|Main Hall]] (Hon-dō)
| denomination = [[Tendai]]
| map_type =
| venerated = Eleven-Headed Kannon
| map_size =
| founded = 734 (?)
| closed =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| founder = Emperor Kōmyō (?)
| location = 903 [[Nikaidō]], Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0002
| founderpriest = Gyōki (?)
| teacher =
| coordinates =
| religious_affiliation = [[Tendai]]
| director =
| deity = [[Avalokiteśvara|Jūichimen Kannon]]<br />(Eleven-Headed Kannon)
| roshi =
| country = Japan
| abbot =
| priest =
| functional_status =
| rinpoche =
| website =
| founded_by = Emperor Kōmyō (?)
| reverend =
| year_completed = 734 (?)
| address = 903 [[Nikaidō]], Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0002
| country = Japan
| website =
}}
}}


{{Nihongo|'''Taizōzan Kannon'in Sugimotodera'''|大蔵山観音院杉本寺}} is a Buddhist temple in [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]], one of the oldest temple in Kamakura and, together with [[Hōkai-ji (Kamakura)|Hōkai-ji]], the only one of the [[Tendai]] denomination.<ref name="kamiya75">Kamiya Vol. 1 (2008:75)</ref> The temple is Number one of the [[Bandō Sanjūsankasho]] pilgrimage circuit.<ref name="kamiya75"/> Two of the three statues of goddess [[Kannon]] it enshrines are national Important Cultural Assets.<ref name="kamiya75"/> Sugimotodera is nicknamed ''Geba Kannon'' ("Dismount Kannon"), because horsemen never failed to dismount from their steeds when they passed by.<ref name="ksk"/> (According to a different version of the legend, non-believers always fell from their horse when passing in front of the temple.)<ref>Mutsu (1995:48)</ref> The temple is a {{nihongo|branch temple|末|まつじ}} of [[Hōkai-ji (Kamakura)|Hōkai-ji]].<ref>Shirai (1976:171)</ref>
{{Nihongo|'''Sugimoto-dera'''|大蔵山観音院杉本寺|Taizō-zan Kannon-in Sugimoto-dera}} is a Buddhist temple in [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]], one of the oldest temples in Kamakura and, together with [[Hōkai-ji (Kamakura)|Hōkai-ji]], the only one of the [[Tendai]] denomination.<ref name="kamiya75">Kamiya Vol. 1 (2008:75)</ref> The temple is Number one of the [[Bandō Sanjūsankasho]] pilgrimage circuit.<ref name="kamiya75" /> Two of the three statues of goddess [[Kannon]] it enshrines are [[Important Cultural Properties of Japan|Important Cultural Properties]].<ref name="kamiya75" /> Sugimotodera is nicknamed ''Geba Kannon'' ("Dismount Kannon"), because horsemen never failed to dismount from their steeds when they passed by.<ref name="ksk" /> (According to a different version of the legend, non-believers always fell from their horse when passing in front of the temple.)<ref>Mutsu (1995:48)</ref> The temple is a {{nihongo|branch temple|末|matsuji}} of [[Hōkai-ji (Kamakura)|Hōkai-ji]].<ref>Shirai (1976:171)</ref>


==History==
== History ==
[[File:Hondou Sugimotodera.jpg|thumb|left|The Main Hall (Kannon-dō)]]According to the temple's own records, Sugimoto-dera was founded in 734 by the minister of the Imperial Court [[Fujiwara no Fusasaki]] (681 – 737) and priest [[Gyōki]] on orders by Emperor [[Emperor Shōmu|Shōmu]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQvQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT47|title=Kamakura: Fact & Legend|author=Iso Mutsu|date=16 October 2012|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-0871-4|chapter=Sugimoto-dera}}</ref>
[[File:Hondou Sugimotodera.jpg|thumb|left|The Main Hall (Kannon-dō)]]According to the temple's own records, Sugimoto-dera was founded in the year 734 by priest [[Gyōki]] on orders by Emperor Kōmyō, and is therefore the oldest of Kamakura's temples, predating the shogunate by half a millennium.<ref name="ksk">Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008:85)</ref> The records say that in the 8th century priest [[Gyōki]] was crossing the [[Kantō region]] on foot when he saw Kamakura from Mount Taizō (the Taizōzan in the temple's name) and decided to leave there a statue of goddess Kannon.<ref name="ksk"/> He then carved and enshrined it himself<ref name="ksk"/>. Later in 734<ref>6th year of the [[Tenpyō]] era.</ref>, Emperor Kōmyō was told by the goddess herself to build here a temple (the ''[[Main_Hall_(Japanese_Buddhism)#Hond.C5.8D|Hon-dō]]'').<ref name="ksk"/> Later, the temple was restored by [[Ennin]] (794–864), and Eshin Sōzu [[Genshin]] (942–1017) enshrined in it a statue of Eleven-faced Kannon, an event that made the temple surge to Number one of the Sanjusankasho pilgrimage circuit.<ref name="kamiya75"/>


The temple's legend holds that [[Empress Kōmyō|Empress Komyo]] (701–760) in the [[Nara period|Nara Period]] (710–794) instructed Fujiwara and Gyoki (668–749) to build the temple enshrining a statue of Eleven-Headed [[Guanyin|Kannon]] as the main object of worship. It is therefore considered to be the oldest of Kamakura's temples, predating the [[Kamakura shogunate]] by half a millennium.<ref name="ksk">Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008:85)</ref>
This is the tradition: the real history of the temple is in reality largely unknown, but Sugimoto-dera certainly predates the [[Kamakura period]] (1185-1333) and is therefore, if not the oldest, among the oldest temples in Kamakura.<ref name="kamiya75"/> The [[Azuma Kagami]] calls it "[[Ōkura Bakufu|Ōkura]] Kannondō", or "Ōkura Kannon Hall", from the old name of the area where it stands.<ref name="kamiya75"/>


The records say that in the 8th century priest [[Gyōki]] was crossing the [[Kantō region]] on foot when he saw Kamakura from Mount Taizō (the Taizōzan in the temple's name) and decided to leave there a statue of goddess Kannon.<ref name="ksk" /> He then carved and enshrined it himself.<ref name="ksk" /> Later in 734,<ref>6th year of the [[Tenpyō]] era.</ref> Emperor Shōmu was told by the goddess herself to build here a temple (the ''[[Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)#Hondō|Hon-dō]]'').<ref name="ksk" /> In 851, the temple was visited by [[Ennin]] (794–864), who made a new Eleven-Headed Kannon statue and gave it to the Temple. Again in 985, retired [[Emperor Kazan]] (968–1008) told the priest Eshin Sōzu [[Genshin]] (942–1017) to carve an additional statue of Eleven-Headed Kannon and enshrine it in the temple. This event made the temple surge to the number one temple in the [[Bandō Sanjūsankasho]] pilgrimage circuit, a series of 33 [[Buddhist]] [[temple]]s in Eastern Japan sacred to Goddess [[Kannon]].<ref name="kamiya75" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=MacWilliams|first=Mark W.|date=1997|title=Temple Myths and the Popularization of Kannon Pilgrimage in Japan: A Case Study of Ōya-ji on the Bandō Route|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=24|issue=3/4|pages=375–411|jstor=30233590}}</ref>
The temple was visited in 1191 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, who ordered extensive repairs.<ref name="kamiya75"/>


Historical accounts of the temple are rare, remaining most of its past largely unknown. Sugimoto-dera certainly predates the [[Kamakura period]] (1185–1333) and is therefore, if not the oldest, among the oldest temples in Kamakura.<ref name="kamiya75" /> The [[Azuma Kagami]] calls it "[[Ōkura Bakufu|Ōkura]] Kannondō", or "Ōkura Kannon Hall", from the old name of the area where it stands.<ref name="kamiya75" />
In 1337, well after the fall of the shogunate in 1333, there was a battle in the temple's premises between Hōjō supporters and [[Ashikaga]] forces, and more than 300 samurai lost their lives. The many small [[gorintō]] (stone stupas) to the right of the main hall were laid there in memory of those who fell on that occasion.


The history of the temple during the Muromachi period is unfortunately not known.<ref name="ksk"/>
The temple was visited in 1191 by Shōgun [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]], who ordered extensive repairs.<ref name="kamiya75" />


In 1337, well after the fall of the shogunate in 1333, there was a battle in the temple's premises between Hōjō supporters and [[Ashikaga clan|Ashikaga]] forces, and more than 300 samurai lost their lives. The many small [[gorintō]] (stone stupas) to the right of the main hall were laid there in memory of those who fell on that occasion.
==Points of interest==
[[File:Nioo-Sugimotodera-.jpg|thumb|The Niō at the gate are supposed to be works by [[Unkei]].]]The three sitting statues of Kannon that the Main Hall enshrines are the temple's main object of worship.<ref name="kamiya75"/> The statue on the left is supposedly the one Gyōki built, but it appears to belong rather to the late [[Heian period]] (from 794 to 1185).<ref name="kamiya75"/> In spite of its dubious attribution, the statue is a city Important Cultural Asset.<ref name="kamiya75"/> The one in the middle is the statue said to have been made by Ennin, which also seems to go back only to the late Heian period and is a national Important Cultural Asset.<ref name="kamiya75"/> The one on the right is the statue traditionally attributed to Genshin, which has been dated to the middle of the Kamakura period and is far too young to really be by him.<ref name="kamiya75"/> This work too is a national Important Cultural Asset.<ref name="kamiya75"/> Religious tradition notwithstanding, none of the statues seems therefore to be attributable to its supposed author.<ref name="kamiya75"/>


The history of the temple during the Muromachi period is not known.<ref name="ksk" />
One evening in 1189 a fire destroyed the entire Ōkura Kannondō, but the temple's ''[[bettō]]'', a man called Jōdai-bō, jumped into the fire and rescued the three statues, laying them under a cedar tree. From this episode stems the present name of the temple, which literally means "Under the cedar tree"<ref name="kamiya75"/>. The rescue was deemed miraculous, and greatly increased the temple's reputation and the number of its pilgrims.<ref name="kamiya75"/> The story was later further embellished claiming that the statues repaired under the tree unaided, and simply were found under the tree.<ref name="kamiya75"/>


== Points of interest ==
Finally, the two warriors at the Niō gate (the ''Niōmon'', see photo), are attributed by the temple to famous sculptor [[Unkei]], but the claim is not supported by any evidence.<ref name="kamiya75"/>
[[File:Nioo-Sugimotodera-.jpg|thumb|The Niō at the gate are supposed to be works by [[Unkei]].]]The three sitting statues of Kannon that the Main Hall enshrines are the temple's main object of worship.<ref name="kamiya75" /> The statue on the left is supposedly the one Gyōki built, but it appears to belong rather to the late [[Heian period]] (from 794 to 1185).<ref name="kamiya75" /> In spite of its dubious attribution, the statue is a city Important Cultural Asset.<ref name="kamiya75" /> The one in the middle is the statue said to have been made by Ennin, which also seems to go back only to the late Heian period and is a national Important Cultural Asset.<ref name="kamiya75" /> The one on the right is the statue traditionally attributed to Genshin, which has been dated to the middle of the Kamakura period and is far too young to really be by him.<ref name="kamiya75" /> This work too is a national Important Cultural Asset.<ref name="kamiya75" /> Religious tradition notwithstanding, none of the statues seems therefore to be attributable to its supposed author.<ref name="kamiya75" />


One evening in 1189 a fire destroyed the entire Ōkura Kannondō, but the temple's ''[[bettō]]'', a man called Jōdai-bō, jumped into the fire and rescued the three statues, laying them under a cedar tree. From this episode stems the present name of the temple, which literally means "Under the cedar tree".<ref name="kamiya75" /> The rescue was deemed miraculous, and greatly increased the temple's reputation and the number of its pilgrims.<ref name="kamiya75" /> The story was later further embellished claiming that the statues repaired under the tree unaided, and simply were found under the tree.<ref name="kamiya75" />
== See also ==
* The [[Glossary of Japanese Buddhism]] for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture.


Finally, the two warriors at the Niō gate (the ''[[Niōmon]]'', see photo), are attributed by the temple to famous sculptor [[Unkei]], but the claim is not supported by any evidence.<ref name="kamiya75" />
== Notes==

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


Line 52: Line 51:
* {{cite book
* {{cite book
| last = Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo
| last = Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo
| first =
| coauthors =
| title = Kamakura Kankō Bunka Kentei Kōshiki Tekisutobukku
| title = Kamakura Kankō Bunka Kentei Kōshiki Tekisutobukku
| publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha
| publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha
| date = 2008
| year = 2008
| location = Kamakura
| location = Kamakura
| language = Japanese
| language = Japanese
Line 64: Line 61:
| last = Kamiya
| last = Kamiya
| first = Michinori
| first = Michinori
| title = Fukaku Aruku Kamakura Shiseki Sansaku Vol. 1
| coauthors =
| title = Fukaku Aruku - Kamakura Shiseki Sansaku Vol. 1
| publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha
| publisher = Kamakura Shunshūsha
| date = 2000/08
| date = August 2000
| location = Kamakura
| location = Kamakura
| language = Japanese
| language = Japanese
| id = ISBN 4774003409
| isbn = 978-4-7740-0340-5
}}
}}
* {{cite book
* {{cite book
| last = [[Iso Mutsu|Mutsu]]
| last = Mutsu
| first = [[Iso Mutsu|Iso]]
| first = Iso
| coauthors =
| author-link = Iso Mutsu
| title = Kamakura. Fact and Legend
| title = Kamakura. Fact and Legend
| publisher = Tuttle Publishing
| publisher = Tuttle Publishing
| date = 1995/06
| date = June 1995
| location = Tokyo
| location = Tokyo
| language = English
| isbn = 978-0-8048-1968-8
| isbn = 0804819688
| oclc = 33184655
| oclc = 33184655
}}
}}
Line 89: Line 84:
|title=Kamakura Jiten
|title=Kamakura Jiten
|publisher=Tōkyōdō Shuppan
|publisher=Tōkyōdō Shuppan
|date=1976
|year=1976
|isbn=4-490-10303-4
|isbn=978-4-490-10303-8
|language=Japanese
|language=Japanese
}}
}}


{{Commons category|Sugimoto-dera}}
{{commonscat|Sugimotodera}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Buddhist temples in Japan}}


{{coord|35|19|21.42|N|139|34|2.81|E|region:JP_type:landmark_scale:1500|display=title}}
{{coord|35|19|21.4|N|139|34|2.8|E|region:JP_type:landmark_scale:1500|display=title}}


[[Category:Buddhist temples in Kanagawa Prefecture]]
[[Category:Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa]]
[[Category:Kamakura, Kanagawa]]
[[Category:Tendai temples]]
[[Category:Kanagawa Prefecture designated tangible cultural property]]
[[ja:杉本寺]]

Latest revision as of 14:46, 22 November 2024

Sugimoto-dera
The Main Hall (Hon-dō)
Religion
AffiliationTendai
DeityJūichimen Kannon
(Eleven-Headed Kannon)
Location
Location903 Nikaidō, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0002
CountryJapan
Architecture
FounderEmperor Kōmyō (?)
Completed734 (?)

Sugimoto-dera (大蔵山観音院杉本寺, Taizō-zan Kannon-in Sugimoto-dera) is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the oldest temples in Kamakura and, together with Hōkai-ji, the only one of the Tendai denomination.[1] The temple is Number one of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit.[1] Two of the three statues of goddess Kannon it enshrines are Important Cultural Properties.[1] Sugimotodera is nicknamed Geba Kannon ("Dismount Kannon"), because horsemen never failed to dismount from their steeds when they passed by.[2] (According to a different version of the legend, non-believers always fell from their horse when passing in front of the temple.)[3] The temple is a branch temple (末寺, matsuji) of Hōkai-ji.[4]

History

[edit]
The Main Hall (Kannon-dō)

According to the temple's own records, Sugimoto-dera was founded in 734 by the minister of the Imperial Court Fujiwara no Fusasaki (681 – 737) and priest Gyōki on orders by Emperor Shōmu.[5]

The temple's legend holds that Empress Komyo (701–760) in the Nara Period (710–794) instructed Fujiwara and Gyoki (668–749) to build the temple enshrining a statue of Eleven-Headed Kannon as the main object of worship. It is therefore considered to be the oldest of Kamakura's temples, predating the Kamakura shogunate by half a millennium.[2]

The records say that in the 8th century priest Gyōki was crossing the Kantō region on foot when he saw Kamakura from Mount Taizō (the Taizōzan in the temple's name) and decided to leave there a statue of goddess Kannon.[2] He then carved and enshrined it himself.[2] Later in 734,[6] Emperor Shōmu was told by the goddess herself to build here a temple (the Hon-dō).[2] In 851, the temple was visited by Ennin (794–864), who made a new Eleven-Headed Kannon statue and gave it to the Temple. Again in 985, retired Emperor Kazan (968–1008) told the priest Eshin Sōzu Genshin (942–1017) to carve an additional statue of Eleven-Headed Kannon and enshrine it in the temple. This event made the temple surge to the number one temple in the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit, a series of 33 Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan sacred to Goddess Kannon.[1][7]

Historical accounts of the temple are rare, remaining most of its past largely unknown. Sugimoto-dera certainly predates the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and is therefore, if not the oldest, among the oldest temples in Kamakura.[1] The Azuma Kagami calls it "Ōkura Kannondō", or "Ōkura Kannon Hall", from the old name of the area where it stands.[1]

The temple was visited in 1191 by Shōgun Minamoto no Yoritomo, who ordered extensive repairs.[1]

In 1337, well after the fall of the shogunate in 1333, there was a battle in the temple's premises between Hōjō supporters and Ashikaga forces, and more than 300 samurai lost their lives. The many small gorintō (stone stupas) to the right of the main hall were laid there in memory of those who fell on that occasion.

The history of the temple during the Muromachi period is not known.[2]

Points of interest

[edit]
The Niō at the gate are supposed to be works by Unkei.

The three sitting statues of Kannon that the Main Hall enshrines are the temple's main object of worship.[1] The statue on the left is supposedly the one Gyōki built, but it appears to belong rather to the late Heian period (from 794 to 1185).[1] In spite of its dubious attribution, the statue is a city Important Cultural Asset.[1] The one in the middle is the statue said to have been made by Ennin, which also seems to go back only to the late Heian period and is a national Important Cultural Asset.[1] The one on the right is the statue traditionally attributed to Genshin, which has been dated to the middle of the Kamakura period and is far too young to really be by him.[1] This work too is a national Important Cultural Asset.[1] Religious tradition notwithstanding, none of the statues seems therefore to be attributable to its supposed author.[1]

One evening in 1189 a fire destroyed the entire Ōkura Kannondō, but the temple's bettō, a man called Jōdai-bō, jumped into the fire and rescued the three statues, laying them under a cedar tree. From this episode stems the present name of the temple, which literally means "Under the cedar tree".[1] The rescue was deemed miraculous, and greatly increased the temple's reputation and the number of its pilgrims.[1] The story was later further embellished claiming that the statues repaired under the tree unaided, and simply were found under the tree.[1]

Finally, the two warriors at the Niō gate (the Niōmon, see photo), are attributed by the temple to famous sculptor Unkei, but the claim is not supported by any evidence.[1]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Kamiya Vol. 1 (2008:75)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008:85)
  3. ^ Mutsu (1995:48)
  4. ^ Shirai (1976:171)
  5. ^ Iso Mutsu (16 October 2012). "Sugimoto-dera". Kamakura: Fact & Legend. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-0871-4.
  6. ^ 6th year of the Tenpyō era.
  7. ^ MacWilliams, Mark W. (1997). "Temple Myths and the Popularization of Kannon Pilgrimage in Japan: A Case Study of Ōya-ji on the Bandō Route". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 24 (3/4): 375–411. JSTOR 30233590.

References

[edit]

35°19′21.4″N 139°34′2.8″E / 35.322611°N 139.567444°E / 35.322611; 139.567444