Manju-ji

Manju-ji 万寿寺
Religion
Affiliation	Tōfuku-ji Rinzai
Deity	Amida Nyorai (Amitābha)
Status	Five Mountain Temple (Kyoto)
Location
Location	15-Chōme 786 Honmachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyōto, Kyoto Prefecture
Country	Japan
Geographic coordinates	34°58′52.1″N 135°46′15.9″E
Architecture
Founder	Emperor Shirakawa
Completed	Heian period (late 13th century)

Manju-ji (万寿寺) is a Rinzai Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku Kyoto, Japan.[1] Owing to the influence of the Ashikaga, Manju-ji was designated a Jissatsu temple for a time. At present, it is a sub-temple of Tōfuku-ji.[2] It is considered to be one of the so-called Kyoto Gozan or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto".

History

Manju-ji was founded in the middle Heian period (late 13th century).[3] In 1305, Nanpo Shōmyō (南浦紹明) (1235–1308) was appointed abbot of Manju-ji.[4]

In 2012, the monastery participated in the so-called East-West Spiritual Exchanges organised by the Institute for Zen Studies of Hanazono University and the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID) in which Buddhist and Christian monks or nuns take turns residing for one month in each other’s monasteries.[5]

Artwork

An artistically noteworthy Amida figure is too large to be moved from Manju-ji for display elsewhere.[6] The temple holds a collection of esoteric Buddhist art which was traditionally used in teaching the salient points in the story of the life of Gautama Buddha.[7]

See also

• List of Buddhist temples
• List of Buddhist temples in Kyoto

Notes

1. Iwao, Seiichi et al. (2002). Dictionnaire historique du Japon, p. 1742.
2. Baroni, Helen Josephine. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism, p. 214.
3. Japan Cultural Profile: "Buddhist architecture in the Kamakura period (1185-1333)"
4. Joint Council for Japanese Rinzai and Obaku Zen: "Transmission of Zen to Japan"
5. Jonnart, Fr. Irénée. "TRAVERSÉE DANS L'ARCHIPEL DES PROFONDEURS". Dilatato Corde (in French). II (1 January - June). DIMMID. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
6. McCallum, Donald F. "Heian Sculpture at the Tokyo National Museum. Part II: A Review Article," Artibus Asiae, Vol. 36, No. 1/2 (1974), pp. 147 n3.
7. JAANUS (Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System): Shaka hassou (釈迦八相, Sha-ka-has-sou).

References

• Baroni, Helen Josephine. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism. New York: Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8239-2240-6; OCLC 42680558
• Dumoulin, Heinrich. (2005). Zen Buddhism: A History (Vol. II: Japan). Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom. ISBN 978-0-941532-90-7
• Iwao, Seiichi, Teizō Iyanaga, Susumu Ishii, Shōichirō Yoshida, et al. (2002). Dictionnaire historique du Japon. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. ISBN 978-2-7068-1632-1; OCLC 51096469
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1956). Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869. Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.