Shojuraikoji Temple

This Tendai sect temple is located in Hieitsuji, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. The mountain name is Shiunzan. The principal image is the Triad of Amida, Shaka, and Yakushi. It is said to have begun in 790 (Enryaku 9) when Dengyo Daishi Saicho established Jizokyoin. In 1001 (Choho 3), Eshin Sozu Genshin entered the temple and meditated on the water contemplation at Lake Biwa. He rebuilt the temple and changed its name to the current one after perceiving the coming of Amida Buddha and the holy people in the purple clouds. He engraved and distributed a painting of the coming of the holy people, and established a ties with the temple. In 1570 (Genki 1) the temple was on the side of the Azai and Asakura in the Battle of Sakamoto, but because it buried Mori Yoshinari (father of Mori Ranmaru) who was on the side of the Oda, it escaped the burning of Mount Hiei by Oda Nobunaga, and many of its treasures remain. During the Tensho era (1573-1592), it merged with Gen'okokusei-ji Temple in Kitashirakawa, Kyoto, and became a training center for the Endonkai ordination, where Emperors Gouda, Ogimachi, and Goyozei, as well as princes and monks, received the ordination. The temple's treasures include 15 colored silk paintings of the six paths of life, which are national treasures. In addition, the temple has many other important cultural properties, such as wooden statues of Nikko and Gakko Bosatsu, colored silk paintings of the Twenty-Five Amida Bodhisattvas Raigo, and eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra. The front gate was moved from the old Sakamoto Castle. The sliding doors painted by the Kano school inside the reception hall (a national important cultural property) are famous. The shoin has a dry landscape garden from the early Momoyama period. The temple holds a temple treasure insect-drying ceremony on August 16th.

[Tamura Kosuke]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

滋賀県大津市比叡辻(ひえいつじ)にある天台宗の寺。山号は紫雲山(しうんざん)。本尊は阿弥陀(あみだ)・釈迦(しゃか)・薬師の三尊如来(にょらい)。790年（延暦9）伝教(でんぎょう)大師最澄(さいちょう)が地蔵教院を建立したのに始まると伝える。1001年（長保3）恵心僧都(えしんそうず)源信が入寺し、琵琶(びわ)湖で水想観を凝らし、紫雲の中に阿弥陀仏と聖衆の来迎を感得して再興し、現在の寺名に改めたという。来迎図を印刻、配布し結縁した。1570年（元亀1）坂本の合戦において浅井・朝倉方であったが、織田(おだ)方の森可成(よしなり)（森蘭丸(らんまる)の父）を葬ったため、織田信長の比叡山焼打ちを免れ、多くの寺宝が残っている。天正(てんしょう)年間（1573～92）に京都北白川にあった元応国清寺を合併、円頓戒(えんどんかい)授戒の道場とされ、後宇多(ごうだ)・正親町(おおぎまち)・後陽成(ごようぜい)天皇、法親王などが受戒した。寺宝の絹本着色六道絵(ろくどうえ)15幅は国宝。そのほか、木造日光・月光菩薩(がっこうぼさつ)像、絹本着色阿弥陀二十五菩薩来迎図、『法華経(ほけきょう)』8巻など国重要文化財は多い。表門は旧坂本城の表門を移したもの。客殿（国重要文化財）内部の狩野(かのう)派の襖絵(ふすまえ)は有名。また書院には桃山初期の枯山水(かれさんすい)の庭がある。8月16日には寺宝虫干会(むしぼしえ)を行う。

［田村晃祐］

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