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[[File:Tenryuji-sogenchi.jpg|right|thumb|500px|The Sôgenchi gardens at Tenryû-ji, designed by [[Muso Soseki|Musô Soseki]]]]
*''Founded: [[1339]], [[Ashikaga Takauji]]''
*''Founded: [[1339]], [[Ashikaga Takauji]]''
*''Other Names'': 霊亀山 ''(Reiki-zan)'', 天龍資聖禅寺 ''(Tenryuu shiseizenji)''
*''Other Names'': 霊亀山 ''(Reiki-zan)'', 天龍資聖禅寺 ''(Tenryuu shiseizenji)''
*''Japanese'': 天龍寺 ''(Tenryuu-ji)''
*''Japanese'': 天龍寺 ''(Tenryuu-ji)''
Tenryû-ji (lit. Heavenly Dragon Temple), located in the [[Arashiyama]] neighborhood of [[Kyoto]], is the head temple of the Tenryû-ji branch of [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] Buddhism. It was designated a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] in 1994.<ref>As part of the group Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, [[Uji]] and [[Otsu]] Cities)."</ref>
Tenryû-ji (lit. Heavenly Dragon Temple), located in the [[Arashiyama]] neighborhood of [[Kyoto]], is the head temple of the Tenryû-ji branch of [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] Buddhism.
The temple was founded in [[1339]] by [[Ashikaga Takauji]], who established it in honor of [[Emperor Go-Daigo]]. [[Muso Soseki|Musô Soseki]] served as the first chief priest of the temple. Soseki is said to have designed the temple's garden, which has been nationally designated a scenic and historical site. The temple also houses a number of [[Important Cultural Properties]], including a portrait of Soseki.
The temple was founded in [[1339]] by [[Ashikaga Takauji]], who established it in honor of [[Emperor Go-Daigo]], who died earlier that year. [[Muso Soseki|Musô Soseki]] served as the first chief priest of the temple. Soseki is said to have designed the temple's garden, Sôgenchi, which is said to be one of the oldest in Japan, and to be in largely the same form as when Soseki designed it in the 14th century. The garden has thus been designated a scenic and historical site by the national government, and a [[World Heritage Site]], in 1994, by UNESCO.<ref>As part of the group Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, [[Uji]] and [[Otsu]] Cities)."</ref>. The temple also houses a number of [[Important Cultural Properties]], including a portrait of Soseki.
The temple was originally called Ryakuô Shisei-zenji, after the Ryakuô era in which it was founded; after Takauji's younger brother [[Ashikaga Tadayoshi]] had a dream of a golden dragon, the temple was renamed Tenryû Shisei-zenji. Construction was funded chiefly by a combination of donations, and income from a set of trading ships known as the Tenryûji-sen ("Tenryû-ji ships"), through which the temple became quite wealthy.
==History==
The site was previously that of [[Danrin-ji]], established in the 9th century as the first [[Zen]] temple in Japan. [[Emperor Kameyama]] built a villa on the site in the 13th century, and Kameyama's grandson, Emperor Go-Daigo, was raised and educated in large part there.
Over the centuries, the temple suffered damage from fire, and was rebuilt, on numerous occasions. Most of the buildings extant today date to the [[Meiji period]], or are more recent.
The temple was originally called Ryakuô Shisei-zenji, after the Ryakuô era in which it was founded; after Takauji's younger brother [[Ashikaga Tadayoshi]] had a dream of a golden dragon, the temple was renamed Tenryû Shisei-zenji. Construction was funded chiefly by a combination of donations, and income from a set of trading ships known as the Tenryûji-sen ("Tenryû-ji ships"), which journeyed to [[Yuan Dynasty]] China, and through which the temple became quite wealthy. Construction of the temple's main buildings was completed by [[1343]], and Tenryû-ji came to be considered the first among the so-called [[Kyoto Five Mountains]] (''Kyôto gozan''; Kyoto's top five Zen temples)<ref>[[Nanzen-ji]] is ranked above the Five Mountains, however, and thus above Tenryû-ji.</ref>
Over the centuries, the temple suffered damage from fire, and was rebuilt, on roughly eight occasions. The most recent extensive reconstruction of the temple was in [[1864]]; most of the buildings extant today thus date to the [[Meiji period]], or are more recent.
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==References==
==References==
*Pamphlets available on-site.
*Plaques on-site.
*Plaques on-site.
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