Chionin Temple

JAPAN, Kyoto

Chionin, also known as Yoshimizu Zenbo, is the head temple of the Pure Land school. The temple was established in 1175 during the Heian period by Honen, who founded the Japanese Pure Land school. The temple was burned down several times during the Kamakura (1185–1333) and Muromachi (1392–1573) periods. In 1607 during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, when Prince Yoshizumi became the abbot, it became a visiting place of the imperial family. In 1633 the temple was partially destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt by Tokugawa Iemitsu, resulting in its current appearance.
The temple occupies more than 24.1 ha. The main buildings of the temple include the main temple gate, Amitabha Hall, the founder’s hall, sutra repository, Treasure Buddha Hall, Chinese Gate, assembly hall, guest houses, Mahasthamaprapta Hall, and the great bell tower. Among them, the main temple gate and the founder’s hall were listed as National Treasures in 2002, whereas many of the other buildings have been listed as Important Cultural Properties.
The five-by-two bay, two-story temple gate was built in 1621. It has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof. It is 24 m high and 50 m wide and is the largest temple gate in Japan. Three-tier and two-tier bracket sets are used on the upper and lower levels respectively. The eleven-by-nine bay founder’s hall, which is the main hall, has a hip-and-gable roof covered with cylindrical tiles. It is 45 m wide and 34 m deep. The hall was built in 1641 and is the largest within the temple. A statue of Honen is housed within the hall.
The three-by-three bay sutra repository has a double-eave pyramidal roof. It contains an octagonal revolving sutra case housing a complete collection of the Song Tripitaka, totaling 6,000 fascicles. The Buddha Jewel Hall was built in 1992. It has a hip roof and houses statues of the Amitabha Buddha and Four Heavenly Kings. The Mahasthamaprapta Hall was built in 1530 and it is the oldest building of the temple. It is here that Honen passed away. Since Honen’s childhood name was Seishimaru, which refers to Mahasthamaprapta, a statue of this Bodhisattva was enshrined within the hall.
The temple contains paintings, such as Amitabha Buddha and Bodhisattvas Welcoming the Deceased and the Biography of Master Honen. The temple has nurtured a wealth of talents, including the 82nd abbot, Mochizuki Shinko, who compiled the Mochizuki Buddhist Dictionary between 1906 and 1936.