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| The Gokoku-ji (lit. "Protection of the Nation Temple") in [[Tokyo]] was founded in [[1682]] as a private temple for [[Keishoin|Keishôin]], the mother of Shogun [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]]. | | The Gokoku-ji (lit. "Protection of the Nation Temple") in [[Tokyo]] was founded in [[1682]] as a private temple for [[Keishoin|Keishôin]], the mother of Shogun [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]]. |
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− | The temple contains a [[Toshogu|Tôshôgû]], a [[Shinto]] shrine dedicated to the spirit of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], erected within the grounds in [[1691]]. Six years later, the main hall of the temple was rebuilt, and the temple was reestablished as a public temple, no longer a private space. Several buildings on the grounds, including the [[1697]] ''Hondô'' and the [[Muromachi period]] ''Gekkôdô'', have been designated [[Important Cultural Properties]]. | + | The temple is dedicated to Daigensui Myôô, a deity associated with the protection of the realm, and in particular the defeat or destruction of enemies of the state. Daigensui is also enshrined in at least one temple in [[Yamashiro province]], serving as protector of the Imperial capital of [[Kyoto]]; here, in [[Edo]], he was chosen as a guardian deity to protect the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. |
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| + | The temple contains a [[Toshogu|Tôshôgû]], a [[Shinto]] shrine dedicated to the spirit of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], erected within the grounds in [[1691]]. Six years later, the main hall of the temple was rebuilt, and the temple was reestablished as a public temple, no longer a private space. Several buildings on the grounds, including the [[1697]] ''Hondô'' and the [[Muromachi period]] ''Gekkôden'', have been designated [[Important Cultural Properties]]. The [[Yakushi]] Hall (''Yakushi-dô''), also built in 1691, includes ''[http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/katoumado.htm katômado]'' windows, and other elements of [[Zen]] architecture, and remains unchanged from its original design, serving as an excellent example of [[Genroku]] period architecture. |
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− | The temple is dedicated to Daigensui Myôô, a deity associated with the protection of the realm, and in particular the defeat or destruction of enemies of the state. Daigensui is also enshrined in at least one temple in [[Yamashiro province]], serving as protector of the Imperial capital of [[Kyoto]]; here, in [[Edo]], he was chosen as a guardian deity to protect the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. | + | The previous Yakushi-dô was converted into a Daishi-dô ("Great Master Hall", dedicated to [[Kobo Daishi|Kôbô Daishi]]) in [[1701]]; it was renovated and relocated in 1926 to its current location. It is a relatively unadorned structure, and retains many features of medieval architecture. The temple's bell tower, similarly, is one of few surviving examples of a particular style of mid-Tokugawa-period ''hakama-goshi-tsuki jûsô irimoya-zukuri'' architecture. The bell itself, dating to the temple's founding in 1682, was a gift from Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in honor of his mother, Keishôin. |
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| Another prominent object of worship at the temple is an image of the 33-bodied Buddha (''sanjûsanjin''), commissioned in [[1704]] by Keishôin upon her 77th birthday; each of the thirty-three statues contains a strand of Keishôin's hair, and one is believed to have been sculpted to represent Keishôin herself, as a spirit, deity, or Buddha helping to protect the shogun and his realm. | | Another prominent object of worship at the temple is an image of the 33-bodied Buddha (''sanjûsanjin''), commissioned in [[1704]] by Keishôin upon her 77th birthday; each of the thirty-three statues contains a strand of Keishôin's hair, and one is believed to have been sculpted to represent Keishôin herself, as a spirit, deity, or Buddha helping to protect the shogun and his realm. |
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| + | The temple is also home to a number of tearooms, including one associated with ''daimyô'' tea master [[Matsudaira Fumai]]. |
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| Adjacent to the Gokoku-ji is the [[Toshima-ga-oka Cemetery]], which contains exclusively Imperial graves. | | Adjacent to the Gokoku-ji is the [[Toshima-ga-oka Cemetery]], which contains exclusively Imperial graves. |
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| *[[Matsudaira Fumai]] | | *[[Matsudaira Fumai]] |
| *[[Muto Nobuyoshi|Mutô Nobuyoshi]]<!--武藤信義--> | | *[[Muto Nobuyoshi|Mutô Nobuyoshi]]<!--武藤信義--> |
| + | *[[Nanbu Toshihisa]] and his wife [[Tokugawa Akiko]] (Matsu-hime) |
| *[[Nanbu Toshinaga]]<!--南部利祥--> | | *[[Nanbu Toshinaga]]<!--南部利祥--> |
| + | *[[Nanbu Toshiyuki]] and his wife |
| *[[Noma Seiji]]<!--野間清治--> | | *[[Noma Seiji]]<!--野間清治--> |
| *[[Okuma Shigenobu|Ôkuma Shigenobu]] | | *[[Okuma Shigenobu|Ôkuma Shigenobu]] |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| *Anne Walthall, "Hiding the shoguns: Secrecy and the nature of political authority in Tokugawa Japan," in Bernard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen (eds.) ''The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion'', Routledge (2006), 347-348. | | *Anne Walthall, "Hiding the shoguns: Secrecy and the nature of political authority in Tokugawa Japan," in Bernard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen (eds.) ''The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion'', Routledge (2006), 347-348. |
− | *Pamphlets available on-site. | + | *Plaques and Pamphlets available on-site. |
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| ==External Links== | | ==External Links== |