Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

DDB Top Page 
 
 
  XML source

龍安寺

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: Ryōanji

Senses:

  • A Japanese Rinzai 臨濟宗 temple of the Myōshinji branch 妙心寺派 located in Ryōanji Goryonoshitachō 龍安寺御陵下町, Ukyō 右京 ward, Kyoto 京都. Its mountain name is Daiunzan 大雲山. Initially, Fujiwara no Saneyoshi 藤原實能 built a buddha-hall 佛殿 next to his villa and gave it the name Tokudaiji 德大寺. In 1450 Hosokawa Katsumoto 細川勝元 took over this property and converted the buddha-hall affiliation to the Zen school 禪宗 and invited Giten Genshō 義天玄詔 (1393–1462) to be the abbot there, but Genshō requested that his own master Nippō Sōshun 日峰宗舜 (?–1448) become the founding abbot and Genshō took up the position as the second generation. The temple was lost to fire in the Ōnin 應仁 war, but it was rebuilt by Hosokawa Masamoto 細川政元 in 1499. Following this, a string of eminent monks took the role of abbot, including Sekkō Sōshin 雪江宗深 (1408–1486), Tokuhō Zenketsu 特芳禪傑 (1419–1506), and Gekkō Genshin 月航玄津 (?–1586). From 1599 onward, both Toyotomi Hideyoshi 豐臣秀吉 (1537–1598) and Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 (1543–1616) contributed additional land to the temple complex multiple times. In 1797, halls 殿舍 were lost to fire and later gradually rebuilt, but the complex never returned to its peak when it had boasted twenty-three temple buildings 塔頭. According to legend, the present abbotʼs quarters 方丈 used to be the living quarters 居室 of Hosokawa Katsumoto. The temple grounds are famous for their beautiful scenery, with the stone garden in front of the abbotʼs quarter being particularly famous. The garden was built at the end of the Muromachi period 室町時代 (1333–1573) by an unknown designer. For a detailed explanation of the layout of the garden and a list of the temple buildings see the Zengaku daijiten entry. Note that the modern day temple uses the transliteration Ryōanji rather than Ryūanji. [Stefan Grace; source(s): Ui, ZGDJT, Iwanami, JEBD]
  • A Japanese Sōtō school 曹洞宗 temple located in Yatsushirochō 八代町 (Yamanashi 山梨 prefecture). Its mountain name is Kinpuzan 金富山. The temple was first founded in 1022 by Shingon school 眞言宗 monk Gue Hōin 弘慧法印, who gave it the name Eijizan Shinpukuji 永治山眞福寺. In the Daiei 大永 era (1521–1528) it was converted to its current status as a Sōtō temple and given its current mountain name. Its main object of veneration 本尊 is Śākyamuni Buddha 釋迦牟尼佛. Note that the modern day temple uses the transliteration 'Ryōanji' rather than 'Ryūanji.' [Stefan Grace; source(s): ZGDJT]
  • Search SAT
  • Search INBUDS Database

    • Feedback

    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 1104

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 1270b

    Iwanami Bukkyō jiten 831

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 244b/271

    Japanese-English Zen Buddhist Dictionary (Yokoi) 560

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)4985c

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2020-06-08