Eihoji Temple

This temple is of the Rinzai sect of the Nanzenji school and is located in Kokeizan-cho, Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture. Its name is Kokeizan. It was founded in 1313 (Showa 2) by Muso Soseki with the support of Toki Yoriuji in the area of ​​Kokei (later Kokei) where he was retiring. It is said to have been founded by Gen'o Hongen (Butsoku Zenji). It was burned during the Onin War (1467-1477), and only the Kaisan-do and Kannon-do Hall remain. The temple faces the Toki River and is located in a secluded area with a waterfall cascading down from a cliff behind it called Bonnongan. The garden, designed by Muso Soseki and skillfully incorporating the natural surroundings, has been designated a national place of scenic beauty. The Kannon-do Hall is a hybrid of Japanese and Chinese architecture, with a single-story hipped-gable roof and a strongly curved cypress bark roof, which is a good example of the Chinese architecture of the early Muromachi period. The Kaisan-do Hall, said to have been built by Ashikaga Takauji in 1352 (Shohei 7, Bunwa 1), is a representative example of Muromachi period Zen architecture, and is designated as a national treasure along with the Kannon-do Hall. The temple treasure, a painting of the Thousand-Armed Kannon, is a national important cultural property.

[Akira Suganuma]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

岐阜県多治見(たじみ)市虎渓山(こけいざん)町にある臨済宗南禅寺派の寺。虎渓山と号する。夢窓疎石(むそうそせき)が、隠棲(いんせい)していた古渓（のちに虎渓）の地に1313年（正和2）土岐頼氏(ときよりうじ)の援助で創建した。開基は元翁本元（仏徳禅師）とされる。応仁(おうにん)の乱（1467～77）のとき兵火にかかり、開山堂と観音堂だけが残った。寺は土岐川の渓流に臨み、梵音巌(ぼんのんがん)とよばれる背後の断崖(だんがい)から滝が流れ落ちる幽境の地にあり、その自然を巧みに取り入れた夢窓疎石作の庭園は国の名勝に指定されている。観音堂は和様・唐(から)様折衷の建築で、一重の裳階(もこし)をもつ入母屋(いりもや)、檜皮葺(ひわだぶき)の屋根は強い反りをもち、室町初期の唐様をよく表している。1352年（正平7・文和1）足利尊氏(あしかがたかうじ)が建てたと伝えられる開山堂は室町時代禅宗建築の代表例で、観音堂とともに国宝に指定されている。寺宝の千手(せんじゅ)観音画像は国の重要文化財。

［菅沼　晃］

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