Byodoin Temple

Japanese: 平等院 - びょうどういん

An independent temple located in Uji Renge, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture. The mountain name is Asahi-san. The principal image is Amida Nyorai. Uji is the location of the "Uji Chapter" in the Tale of Genji, and is famous for its beautiful mountains and clear waters since ancient times. It is said that the left minister, Minamoto no Toru, ran a villa called Uji-in. It was later passed on to the left minister of Rokujo, Minamoto no Shigenobu, and then to Fujiwara no Michinaga, who frequently held entertainment events there. Uji-in (also known as Uji-dono) was passed on by Michinaga to his son, Yorimichi, but in 1052 (Eisho 7), the first year of the Latter Day of the Law, Yorimichi converted the sleeping hall into a Buddhist hall (main hall), and the following year, the Amida Hall was built on the west bank of the Uji River. It was built in a position overlooking the Pure Land from east to west, with a hall with a transept by Aji Pond and a seated statue of Amida Buddha made by Jocho enshrined within, based on the Pure Land thought of the time that involved contemplating the Pure Land. The first priest (founder) was Myoson Daisojo of Onjo-ji Temple. After that, the Hokke Hall was built in 1056 (Tenki 4), the Tahoto Pagoda in 1061 (Kōhei 4), and the Godaido Hall in 1066 (Jiraku 2). After Yorimichi's death, his daughter, Shijonomiya Fujiwara Kanshi, lived here.

Uji has been a key transportation point since ancient times, and in 646 (Taika 2), Doto built a bridge over it. In 1180 (Jisho 4), Minamoto no Sanmi Yorimasa raised his troops at Onjo-ji Temple, and on his way to Nara, he fought the Taira clan in Uji and committed suicide at Byodo-in Temple. The battle for the vanguard between Kajiwara Kagesue and Sasaki Takatsuna (1184) is also famous, and during the Jōkyū War (1221), the area was a place of confrontation between the retired emperor and the Hojo clan. During the Kenmu era (1334-1338), when Kusunoki Masashige fought against Ashikaga Takauji, the surrounding area was burned down, and Byodo-in Temple was burned down, leaving only the Phoenix Hall, Kannon Hall, and bell tower. In the Kamakura period, Eison of Saidaiji Temple, at the urging of the monks of Byodo-in Temple, repaired the Uji Bridge, abolished the fences (prohibited killing), and built a 13-story stone pagoda on the floating island. During the Muromachi period, the head priest of Enman-in Temple in Miidera Temple in Omi (Shiga Prefecture) served as the head priest of the temple, but during the Meiō period (1492-1501) the temple was managed by Eikyu Shonin of the Jodo sect, and when conflict arose between the Jodo, Shingon, and Tendai sects, the temple came under the management of Jodo-in Temple of the Jodo sect and Shosho-in Temple of the Tendai sect, and currently the head priest of Sai-in Temple serves as the representative director on a three-year rotation.

[Tamura Kosuke]

Cultural Assets

The Amida Hall (a national treasure) has been called the Phoenix Hall since the early Edo period. It is said that the name comes from the copper phoenix on the roof, or from the fact that the shape of the building, with its wings and tail corridors in the main hall, resembles a phoenix. The main hall is three bays across and two beams deep, in a gabled roof style with a mokoshi-tsuki roof, while the wing corridors are eight bays long and one beam deep, with two-story gabled roofs, and a tower in a treasury-style building in the corner, creating a symmetrical shape. Behind it is a tail corridor seven bays wide and one beam deep, and together with the grandeur of the interior, this is a masterpiece of architecture that represents the very best of Heian period art. The principal image, a seated Amida Nyorai (national treasure), was created by Jocho in his later years in 1053 (Tenki 1). It is made of inlaid wood, lacquered and gold leaf, and is making a jodo mudra. It has a gorgeous halo of flying celestial beings, and sits on a nine-tiered platform under a wooden canopy (national treasure). Its mellow face, broad and thin chest, and folds in the robes of its priests make it a masterpiece that shows the perfection of Japanese-style sculpture suited to the tastes of aristocrats. On the small walls above the nageshi (railed wooden beams) inside the hall, 51 statues of Bodhisattva Bodhisattva in the Clouds (national treasures) are hanging, playing music and singing and dancing. The hall is decorated with 14 wall paintings (national treasures) such as "Kuhon Raigo-zu" (The Nine Ranks of Arrival) and "Nissokan-zu" (The View of the Sun) on the doors and wooden walls, and a mural on the wall behind the principal image. The temple bell (national treasure) is famous as one of the three most famous bells in Japan. The Kannon Hall (Tsuridono) and its principal image, the Eleven-Headed Kannon statue, are designated as national important cultural properties, the garden is a strolling garden, and the grounds are designated as a historic site and a place of scenic beauty. In 1994, it was registered as a World Heritage Site (World Cultural Heritage. The cultural properties of the ancient capital of Kyoto are a collective registration of 17 shrines, temples, and castles, including Kiyomizu-dera Temple).

[Tamura Kosuke]

"Ancient Temple Pilgrimage: Kyoto 8: Byodo-in Temple" (1976, Tankosha)" ▽ "Treasures of Japanese Art 9: Byodo-in Temple and Chuson-ji Temple" by Eiichi Taguchi (1982, Shogakukan) ▽ "Byodo-in Temple Grand View, edited by Hirotaro Ota et al., 3 volumes (1988-91, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

京都府宇治(うじ)市宇治蓮華(れんげ)にある単立寺院。山号は朝日山(あさひさん)。本尊阿弥陀如来(あみだにょらい)。宇治は『源氏物語』の「宇治十帖(じょう)」の地であり、古来、山紫水明で、左大臣源融(とおる)が別業(べつぎょう)（別荘）宇治院を営んだことは名高い。それはのち、六条左大臣源重信を経て藤原道長の手に移り、たびたび遊宴が催された。宇治院（宇治殿とも）は道長より子頼通(よりみち)へ譲られるが、末法の初年とされた1052年（永承7）頼通は寝殿を仏殿（本堂）とし、翌年、宇治川の西岸に阿弥陀堂が建立された。東から西の極楽(ごくらく)浄土を望む位置に建てられ、阿字(あじ)池には翼廊付きの御堂(みどう)を配置し、堂内には定朝(じょうちょう)作の阿弥陀坐像(ざぞう)を安置するなど、極楽浄土を観想する当時の浄土思想に基づいてつくられた。初代の執印(しついん)（開山）は園城(おんじょう)寺の明尊(みょうそん)大僧正(そうじょう)。以後、1056年（天喜4）に法華(ほっけ)堂、1061年（康平4）に多宝塔、1066年（治暦2）に五大堂が造立された。頼通の没後、娘の四条宮藤原寛子(かんし)が住した。

　宇治は古代から交通の要衝で、646年（大化2）道登(どうと)が架橋した。1180年（治承4）源三位(げんさんみ)頼政(よりまさ)が園城寺に兵をあげ、奈良へ赴く途中宇治で平氏と戦い、平等院で自害した。梶原景季(かじわらかげすえ)と佐々木高綱の先陣争い（1184）も有名であり、承久(じょうきゅう)の乱（1221）では上皇方と北条方の対峙(たいじ)の所となった。建武(けんむ)年間（1334～38）楠木正成(くすのきまさしげ)が足利尊氏(あしかがたかうじ)と戦ったとき付近一帯を焼き、平等院も鳳凰(ほうおう)堂、観音(かんのん)堂、鐘楼を残し焼失した。なお、鎌倉時代、西大寺叡尊(えいそん)は平等院の僧の勧めで、宇治橋修造、網代(あじろ)撤廃（殺生(せっしょう)禁断）を行い、浮島に十三重石塔を建てた。室町時代に近江(おうみ)（滋賀県）の三井寺円満(えんまん)院門主が兼務したが、明応(めいおう)年間（1492～1501）浄土宗の栄久上人(しょうにん)が管理し、浄土・真言(しんごん)・天台宗が対立し、浄土宗の浄土院と天台宗寺門派の最勝院の管理となり、現在、西院の住職が3年交替で代表役員を務めている。

［田村晃祐］

文化財

阿弥陀堂（国宝）は江戸時代初期より鳳凰堂とよばれた。屋上の銅製の鳳凰によるとか、中堂に両翼廊・尾廊をもつ建物の形が鳳凰を思わせるところからその名があるといわれる。中堂は桁行(けたゆき)三間、梁間(はりま)二間で裳階付(もこしつき)入母屋(いりもや)造、翼廊は桁行各折曲り延長八間、梁間一間の二階切妻造で、隅に宝形(ほうぎょう)造の楼閣があり、左右対称形をなす。背後に桁行七間、梁間一間一階の尾廊をもち、内部の荘厳(しょうごん)とともに平安時代の芸術の粋を尽くした名建築である。本尊阿弥陀如来坐像（国宝）は1053年（天喜1）定朝の晩年の作で、寄木(よせぎ)造、漆箔(はく)を施し、定印を結ぶ。華麗な飛天の光背をもち、木造の天蓋(てんがい)（国宝）の下、九重の台に座し、円満な顔、広く薄い胸、法衣の衣文(えもん)など貴族の趣味にあった和様彫刻の完成を示す名品である。堂内の長押(なげし)上の小壁には奏楽・歌舞をなす51躯(く)の雲中供養菩薩(ぼさつ)像（国宝）がかけられている。扉と板壁の「九品来迎(くほんらいごう)図」「日想観図」など壁扉(へきひ)画（14面、国宝）、本尊後壁壁画などで荘厳されている。また梵鐘(ぼんしょう)（国宝）は日本三名鐘の一つとして有名。観音(かんのん)堂（釣殿(つりどの)）とその本尊十一面観音像は国指定重要文化財、庭園は回遊式庭園、境内は史跡・名勝に指定されている。1994年（平成6）、世界遺産の文化遺産として登録された（世界文化遺産。古都京都の文化財は清水寺など17社寺・城が一括登録されている）。

［田村晃祐］

『『古寺巡礼　京都8　平等院』（1976・淡交社）』▽『田口栄一著『名宝日本の美術9　平等院と中尊寺』（1982・小学館）』▽『太田博太郎他編『平等院大観』全3巻（1988～91・岩波書店）』

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