Chionin Temple

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Chion-in's main hall "Mieido" (御影堂)

A picture of the pond in the rear of Chion-in Temple

Here, the Tokugawa family crest can be seen carved into the ends of the roof beams, honoring their patronage of the temple.

Chionin Temple (知恩院) is the headquarters of the Jodo Shu (Pure Land Sect) founded by Honen (1133-1212), who proclaimed that sentient beings are reborn in Amida Buddha's Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu, Amida Buddha's name.

The vast compounds of Chion-in include the site where Honen settled to disseminate his teachings and the site where he died.

[edit] History

The original temple was built in 1234 by Honen's disciple, Genchi (1183-1238) in memory of his master and was named Chion-in. Numerous buildings in the complex were burnt down in 1633, but were entirely rebuilt by the third Tokugawa Shogun Iemitsu (1604-51) these are the palatial structures that stand today.

[edit] Architecture

The colossal main gate, San-mon Gate, was built in 1619 and is the largest surviving structure of its kind in Japan. Chion-in has a large and small guest houses in the Irimoya roof style called Ohojo and Kohojo that are designated Important Cultural Heritages. Both guest houses were built in 1641.

There are two interesting features to note about Chion-in. First, the roof beams are all carved with the family crest of the Tokugawa family: three hollyhock leaves.

Another feature is the umbrella found stashed in the rafters outside the main temple. One of the architects who helped rebuild the temple placed the umbrella in the rafters to help bring rain (and thereby ward off fire).

Lastly, an interesting feature inside the temple are the very squeaky boards. The wooden boards where built with metal ends that would rub against the metal joints they were attached too, created a piercing noise as people step on them. This was intentionally done so that when the Tokugawa family stayed at the temple, they could detect unwanted intruders at night.