円覚寺 Engaku-ji Engaku-ji Temple
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Engaku-ji, located in Yamanouchi, Kamakura-City in Kanagawa Prefecture, is the second of the Five Kamakura Mountain Zen Temples and the head temple of the Engaku-ji branch of Rinzai-shuu Zen Buddhism. Shakanorai is enshrined there as the principal image of Buddha. Engaku-ji was founded in 1282 by Hojo Tokimune who invited his Zen teacher, the Chinese priest Mugaku Sogen, or Wuxue Zuyuan, to bring peace to the spirits of all those who had perished during the Genkou War with the Mongols. The temple was embraced and protected by the Imperial Court and the government lead by the Hojo clan, and the construction of the temple complex was completed by the end of the Kamakura period. On a number of occasions between the Muromachi period and the Edo period, the temple was damaged by fire. Its important buildings, including the inner gate and the meditation hall were restored by Daiyou Kokushi at the end of the Edo period and became the base of the structure that remains today. The temple was named Engaku-ji, “Temple of Perfect Enlightenment”, because the Engaku-kyo sutra, a part of the Mahayana Buddhism Sutra, was unearthed during its construction. The temple structures that remain today were rebuilt after the Great Kanto Earthquake. The vast grounds covering 60,000 square meters contain both the main temple buildings (arranged in a straight line) as well as 15 sub temples. Engaku-ji is an imposing Zen temple, rich with history and tradition.
- address
- 409 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, 247-0062
- name
- Engaku-ji Temple
- phone
- 0467-22-0478
- hp
- http://www.engakuji.or.jp