Ancient Kyoto: Tenryū-ji Temple

Overview

Location: Kyoto, Japan, Asia

Theme: Places of Worship

Tenryuji Temple is the favorite among Kyoto’s Zen Temples, but it is the gardens that draw visitors today.

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Ancient Kyoto: Tenryū-ji Temple

Official UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994

Kyoto was the main centre for the evolution of religious and secular architecture and of garden design between the 8th and 17th centuries, and as such it played a decisive role in the creation of Japanese cultural traditions which, in the case of gardens in particular, had a profound effect on the rest of the world from the 19th century onwards. Buddhism had already been introduced from China and Chinese culture was having a profound influence on Japan when the capital was moved from Heijo-ko (Nara), after 10 years at Nagaoka, to Kyoto, under the name of Heian-ko, in AD 794. The city plan was modelled on Chinese cities such as Changshan, capital of Tang China. It was the heart of the aristocratic society that clustered around the imperial court for the four centuries of the Heian period (794-1192). For most of this period there was a prohibition on the building of Buddhist temples inside the city, apart from the two imperial temples (To-ji and Sai-ji).

Properties on the World Heritage site that date from the foundation of Heian-kyo are Karmwakeikauchi-jinja (Shinto shrine), Amomioya-jinja (Shinto shrine), Kyo-o-gokoku-ji To-ji (Buddhist temple), Kiyornim-dera (Buddhist temple), and Enryaku-ji (Buddhist temple); the two large Buddhist temples of Daigo-ji and Ninna-ji are representative of the early Heian period. By the end of the Heian period the military samurai class was growing in power, and the resulting unrest, coupled with the fact that the world would enter its final years, according to Buddhist doctrine, in 1052, led to an increase in religious fervour. The Buddhist temple of Byodo-in and the Ujigami-jinja date from this period.

A civil war in 1185 led to the establishment of a samurai military regime at Kamakum; however, the imperial court remained at Kyoto. The Sekisui-in at Kozan-ji is the best example of the residential architecture of this period, which ended in 1332 with the establishment of the Muromachi Shogunate. This period saw the building of large temples of the Rinzai Zen sect, such as Temyu-ji, and the creation of Zen gardens, of which that at Saiho-ji is a representative example.

At the end of the 14th century, the Muromachi Shogunate reached the apogee of its power, and this is reflected in buildings such as the villa of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, which later became the Buddhist temple Rokuon-ji. The villa of a later shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, built in a more refined style in the mid-15th century, was also converted into a temple, Jisho-ji. Garden design was refined into pure art, as demonstrated by the garden of the abbot's residence at Ryoan-ji. Much of Kyoto was destroyed in the Onin War (1467-77), but it was rebuilt by a new urban merchant class, who replaced the aristocrats who had fled during the war. In 1568 Oda Nobunaga seized power, and he was followed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who unified the country and built a 23 km wall round Kyoto. The centre of power moved to Edo (present-day Tokyo) when a new shogunate was established under Tokugawa Ieyasu. The authority of the Tokugawa Shogunate was given material form in Kyoto with the construction of the strong castle of Ngo-jo at the heart of the city. At the same time Hideyoshi's defences were dismantled.

The political stability of the Momoyama period (1573-1614) saw a new spirit of confidence among both the military and the merchants, reflected in the opulence and boldness of the architecture, represented by the Sanpo-in residential complex and garden at Daigo-jo and the prayer and reception halls at the Buddhist temple of Hongan-ji, moved from Osaka to Kyoto as a symbol of the city's revival. The beginning of the long Edo period (1615-1867) saw Heian temples and shrines, such as Kiyomimdera, being restored in traditional style. During this period the supremacy of Kyoto as a centre of pilgrimage became established. After the Meiji restoration of 1868 the capital and the imperial court moved to Tokyo.

One of the results was the adoption of a modernization policy that led to the transformation of Kyoto into a modern city. This caused the city's cultural heritage to be neglected; however, the national government was aware of what was happening, and introduced the first ordinance for the protection of antiquities in 1871. This was superseded in 1897 by the important Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law, which marked the beginning of the protection and conservation programmes of modern Japan.

In autumn, the gardens at Tenryuji Temple are ablaze with orange and red maple leaves, set against a backdrop of evergreen and graceful bamboo. These famous Zen gardens were carefully designed so that there would always be color and soothing shapes, no matter what season it was, and they have survived for hundreds of years. The gardens also include a pond shaped like the Chinese character kokoro, which means “enlightened heart.” The monks who have lived here over nearly eight centuries have centered their lives around that pursuit of enlightenment. Today, the temple’s gardens have become the key reason that visitors come to Tenryuji.

The Sogenchi Garden, just behind the Hojo, or Main Hall, has been designated a special historic site and a special historic scenic area, dating back to the 14th century. It was created, in those long ago days, by a talented monk, Muso Soseki, a brilliant designer who made the garden look like Mount Horai in China. This garden is important because it uses “borrowed scenery,” drawing the faraway mountains into the overall garden design. Soseki also created a square pond filled with lotus flowers at the temple’s entrance.

Shogun Ashikaga Takauji ordered the construction of Tenryuji Temple (sometimes called the “Temple of the Heavenly Dragon”) in 1339, after a Zen priest dreamed that he saw a golden dragon rise out of the river that runs through today’s temple complex. The Shogun believed that the temple would console the spirit of Emperor Go-Daigo, who had been forced to abandon his throne. Over the years, however, the temple’s main function has been the veneration of Gautama Buddha.

At the time of the Meiji restoration in 1868, when an emperor replaced the ruling shoguns, this temple lost its patron and fell on hard times. Prosperity of a kind returned as recently as 1979, when the abbot who remains in the charge of the temple now asked people to contribute money to build a Hatto, or Lecture Hall, where the monks could meditate.

They are still there now, meditating in the Hatto, beneath an enormous, modern twentieth century painting of a “cloud dragon” painted on the ceiling. Many other buildings in the temple complex are also relatively new, since the temple is said to have been destroyed by fire as many as eight times.

Tenryuji, located to the west of Kyoto, is devoted to the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, which believes that meditation is the way to receive self-realization and enlightenment. Today, it is the head temple of the Tenryū branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.