Engyō-ji


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Engyō-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Tendai sect of Japanese Buddhism and its honzon is a Shaka Sanzon trinity. The temple's full name is Shosha-san Engyō-ji.The temple is the 27th stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage route. It is the largest of the thirty-three temples of the Saigoku Pilgrimage and is located on Mount Shosha. Its status is so high that it is known as the "Mount Hiei of the West" and it was one of the three major training centers of the Tendai sect, along with Mount Hiei and Mount Daisen. Despite its location far from Heian-kyō, it was visited by many emperors, retired emperors and members of the aristocracy. The precincts of the temple were designated a National Historic Site in 1934.
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Overview

The temple grounds are divided into the "Higashidani" stretching from the Niōmon to the Jumyō-in sub-temple; the "Nakadani" centered around the Maniden ; and the "Nishidani" with its three halls and Oku-no-in. Mount Shosha, where the temple complex is located, is 371 meters above sea level and is designated as a Mount Shosha Wildlife Protection Area by Hyōgo Prefecture.
Within the mountain is the Honda clan cemetery, the burial site of the Honda clan of Himeji Domain, which also contains the graves of Miyamoto Mikinosuke, the adopted son of Miyamoto Musashi, who served Honda Tadataki.
From 1398 during the Muromachi period until the Meiji Restoration, women were prohibited from entering the temple, so they would leave a talisman at the Nyōnin-dō at the entrance to the Higashizaka approach.
In recent years, the temple has been used as a filming location for the Hollywood movie "The Last Samurai" released in 2003, the NHK Taiga drama "Musashi", "The Tale of Genji: A Thousand-Year Mystery", "Tenchi Meisatsu", the NHK Taiga drama "Gunshi Kanbei", "Kakekomi Onna to Kakedashi Otoko" and "Kuroi no Shikaku", "Honnoji Hotel", "March Comes in Like a Lion", "Sekigahara", and "G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes".

History

The founding of this temple is uncertain. Mount Shosha was a holy mountain sacred to the kami Susanoo-no-Mikoto from prehistoric times. According to Buddhist legend, Mount Shosha was made from a handful of soil from Vulture Peak by Shaka Nyorai. A temple was founded by the monk Shōku in 966, and was originally called Shosha-ji. Shōku was a member of the aristocratic Tachibana clan and was already 36 years old when he became a monk. After spending about 20 years training in Kyushu, including Mount Kirishima and Mount Sefuri, he set out on a journey in search of sacred sites. In 966, at the age of 57, he established a hermitage on Mount Shosha, marking the beginning of Shosha-ji. In 970, he witnessed a heavenly being worshipping a sacred cherry tree on Mount Shosha. He ordered his disciple Anchin to carve a statue of Nyōirin Kannon from the living cherry tree and built a three-bay hall on the cliff. This was the founding of the Nyōirin-dō. Shōku's biography is found in numerous historical sources, including the Genkō Shakusho and the Konjaku Monogatarishū, and he is described as despising mundane affairs and having no interest in glory or fame. Emperor Kazan, who held a particularly strong reverence for Shōku, visited the temple in 986 and bestowed it with the name Engyō-ji. He also donated 100 koku of rice, which the temple used to build a lecture hall. In addition to Emperor Kazan, many other members of the imperial family, including Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Emperor Go-Daigo, have visited the temple, and buildings have been renovated, remodeled, and built at imperial request. It is also known that Ippen and other Ji-shū leaders visited the temple, and just before his death, Ippen entrusted his teachings to the monks of Engyō-ji. The temple claims that Benkei was studied at Engyō-ji, and related items such as his desk are have been exhibited, but there is no definite proof that this is historically accurate.
In 1578 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ordered by Oda Nobunaga to conquer the Chugoku region, invaded the temple during his invasion of Harima Province. He took the Maniden Hall's principal image, the Nyōirin Kannon statue, and other items as trophies to his stronghold at Nagahama in Ōmi Province. Before Hideyoshi's invasion, the temple boasted a landholding of 27,000 koku, was off-limits to messengers from the shugo, and flourished as one of the three major Tendai centers. However, Hideyoshi reduced the landholding to 500 koku, causing the temple's power to decline. The statue was eventually returned; however, this was not the original statue carved by Shōku, but was a replacement carved from the same wood.
The Maniden hall was destroyed by fire in December 1921 but was rebuilt in 1933.
The temple is approximately six kilometers from Nozato Station on the JR West Bantan Line.

Cultural Properties

National Important Cultural Properties

  • Dai-Kōdō, mid-Muromachi period
  • Shōrō, late-Muromachi period
  • Kongo-dō, late-Muromachi period
  • Shoku-dō, mid-Muromachi period
  • Jōgyō-dō, mid-Muromachi period
  • Oku-no-in, Azuchi-Momoyama to early-Edo period, consisting of 4 structures, Ototensha Shrine, Wakatensha Shrine and Gōhōdō Worship Hall )
  • Maniden, Showa period
  • Jūmyō-in, Edo period; consisting of three structures and Kuri and Karamon )
  • Juryō-in, Edo period; consisting of three structures and Kuri and Munamon )
  • Wooden statues of seated The Buddha, Heian period;
  • Wooden statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, Heian period;
  • Wooden statue of seated Amitābha, Heian period;
  • Wooden portrait statue of seated monk Shōku, Kamakura period ;

Hyōgo Prefecture Designated Tangible Cultural Properties

  • Niōmon, Edo period ;
  • Yakushi-dō, Kamakura period;
  • Honda clan Memorial Chapels, Edo period;
  • Stone Japanese pagoda#Kasatōba, Kamakura period ;
  • Bonshō, Kamakura period;
  • Wooden statue of seated Nio, Nanboku-chō period ;
  • Statue of seated Cintāmaṇicakra, Kamakura period ;
  • Seated portrait statue monk Shōku, Heian period ;

Himeji City Designated Tangible Cultural Properties

  • Atago Shrine Main Hall, Edo period ;
  • Hexagonal stone pagoda, Edo period ;
  • '''Wooden seated statues of Nio, Muromachi period ;

Himeji City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property

  • Exorcism ceremony,