Hōkō-ji (Kyoto)

For other temples named "Hōkō-ji", see Hōkō-ji (disambiguation).
Hōkō-ji
方広寺

Hondo
Basic information
Affiliation Tendai
Country Kyoto, Japan
Architectural description
Founder Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
Shun’oku Myoha/Muso Soseki
Completed 1586

Hōkō-ji (方広寺 Hōkō-ji) is a temple in Kyoto, Japan, dating from the 16th century. Toyotomi Hideyoshi determined that the capital city should have a Daibutsu temple to surpass that of Nara. He is reputed to have claimed at the outset that he would complete construction in half the time it took Emperor Shōmu to complete the Great Buddha of Nara. The project during Emperor Shomū's reign took ten years. Hideyoshi would complete the initial phase of his project in only three years.[1] The architects for this project were Nakamura Masakiyo and Heinouchi Yoshimasa.[2]

History

Temple bell at Hōkō-ji.
Inscription on bell at Hōkō-ji
"[T]he tablet over the Daibatsu-den and the bell bore the inscription "Kokka ankō" (meaning "the country and the house, peace and tranquility"), and at this Tokugawa Ieyasu affected to take umbrage, alleging that it was intended as a curse on him for the character 安 (an, "peace") was placed between the two characters composing his own name 家康 ("ka-kō", "house tranquility") [suggesting subtly perhaps that peace could only be attained by Ieyasu's dismemberment?] ... This incident of the inscription was, of course, a mere pretext, but Ieyasu realized that he could not enjoy the power he had usurped as long as Hideyori lived, and consequently, although the latter more than once dispatched his kerei Katagiri Kastumoto to Sunpu Castle with profuse apologies, Ieyasu refused to be placated."[11]

See also

Notes

  1. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A.B. (1956). Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, p. 290-294.
  2. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 225.
  3. Ponsonby-Frane, p. 290.
  4. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 404 n1.
  5. Kyoto National Museum website.
  6. Hall, John, ed. (1988). The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Asao Naohiro, "The sixteenth century unification," pp.49–50.
  7. 1 2 Ponsonby-Fane, p. 291.
  8. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 291; Titsingh, p. 405.
  9. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 290; Titsingh, p. 409.
  10. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 292; Titsingh, p. 409.
  11. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 292; Titsingh, p. 410.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Ponsonby-Fane, p. 292
  13. British Library's images on line
  14. 1 2 3 Ponsonby-Fane, p. 293.
  15. Ponsonby-Fane, pp. 293–294.

References

34°59′32″N 135°46′19″E / 34.992106°N 135.772064°E / 34.992106; 135.772064Coordinates: 34°59′32″N 135°46′19″E / 34.992106°N 135.772064°E / 34.992106; 135.772064

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