Changes

The temple was originally built with the tallest Buddha Hall (''butsuden'') of any temple in Japan. At 48m high, roughly equivalent to fifteen stories, it was quite possibly the largest wooden building on earth for a time, larger even than the Buddha Hall at [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]] which arguably holds that distinction today.<ref name=shogun>Timon Screech, ''The Shogun's Painted Culture'', 68, 108-110.</ref> The wooden statue of [[Dainichi]] nyorai contained within, constructed by the [[Shichijo bussho|Shichijô bussho]] ("Seventh Avenue Buddhist [Sculpture] Studio")<ref>Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', 102-103.</ref> was held together with nails and brackets made by melting down weapons collected in Hideyoshi's [[1588]] "[[Sword Hunt]]." Hideyoshi also installed at Hôkô-ji an [[Amida]] statue from [[Zenko-ji|Zenkô-ji]], of particularly unique eminence as it was said to be not merely a representation of Amida, but genuinely alive itself. This statue was (and still is today) considered so sacred that it was transported in a closed box, and has never been shown to the public.

The temple was originally built with the tallest Buddha Hall (''butsuden'') of any temple in Japan. At 48m high, roughly equivalent to fifteen stories, it was quite possibly the largest wooden building on earth for a time, larger even than the Buddha Hall at [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]] which arguably holds that distinction today.<ref name=shogun>Timon Screech, ''The Shogun's Painted Culture'', 68, 108-110.</ref> The wooden statue of [[Dainichi]] nyorai contained within, constructed by the [[Shichijo bussho|Shichijô bussho]] ("Seventh Avenue Buddhist [Sculpture] Studio")<ref>Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', 102-103.</ref> was held together with nails and brackets made by melting down weapons collected in Hideyoshi's [[1588]] "[[Sword Hunt]]." Hideyoshi also installed at Hôkô-ji an [[Amida]] statue from [[Zenko-ji|Zenkô-ji]], of particularly unique eminence as it was said to be not merely a representation of Amida, but genuinely alive itself. This statue was (and still is today) considered so sacred that it was transported in a closed box, and has never been shown to the public.

Following Hideyoshi's death in [[1598]], he had himself deified as the great ''[[kami]]'' ''Hôkoku dai myôjin'', and enshrined at [[Toyokuni Shrine]] (aka Hôkoku Shrine), which was erected adjacent to Hôkô-ji. The temple was reduced in some respects by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], but was maintained, and even rebuilt following a fire in the 1660s. However, at that time, the nails and brackets of the wooden Daibutsu were melted down, yielding, supposedly, 40 million ''[[currency|kanmon]]'' worth of metal. The Daibutsu was replaced with a bronze sculpture at that time, and the great Amida was returned to Zenkô-ji.

Following Hideyoshi's death in [[1598]], he had himself deified as the great ''[[kami]]'' ''Hôkoku dai myôjin'', and enshrined at [[Toyokuni Shrine]] (aka Hôkoku Shrine), which was erected adjacent to Hôkô-ji. [[Toyotomi Hideyori]] then worked to have the temple, and its Great Buddha, rebuilt. The recasting of the Great Buddha was complete in [[1612]], and secondary structures such as the bell towers by [[1614]]. However, the temple still required shogunal authorization to be officially re-dedicated, and the Toyotomi and Tokugawa entered into extensive conflict over ritual protocols, with Tokugawa Ieyasu seeking to set ritual practices according to a hegemonic set of conventions, and Toyotomi Hideyori demanding that the rituals be performed as he saw fit. One set of letters, in particular, conveyed by [[Katagiri Katsumoto]] on behalf of the Toyotomi, drew ire from the Tokugawa, who interpreted them as containing a hidden message challenging Tokugawa hegemony. This served either as impetus, or excuse, for the [[siege of Osaka]] which ultimately eliminated the Toyotomi line.<ref>Morgan Pitelka, ''Spectacular Accumulation'', University of Hawaii Press (2016), 129-130.</ref>

 

The temple was reduced in some respects by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], but was maintained, and even rebuilt following a fire in the 1660s. However, at that time, the nails and brackets of the wooden Daibutsu were melted down, yielding, supposedly, 40 million ''[[currency|kanmon]]'' worth of metal. The Daibutsu was replaced with a bronze sculpture at that time, and the great Amida was returned to Zenkô-ji.

The temple was spared in a fire which destroyed much of the city in [[1788]], but ten years later, in [[1798]], the Great Buddha Hall was struck by lightning, and was destroyed in the resulting fire, along with the Daibutsu within.<ref name=shogun/> Though extensive efforts were made to save the building, and the statue, with a chain of 10,000 people conveying buckets of water to put out the blaze, it was for naught in the end. On this terrible occasion, it is said that mysterious fireballs were seen in the skies over [[Edo]], and that one even landed in the garden of [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]].<ref name=shogun/> The temple was rebuilt, but the Daibutsu was not.

The temple was spared in a fire which destroyed much of the city in [[1788]], but ten years later, in [[1798]], the Great Buddha Hall was struck by lightning, and was destroyed in the resulting fire, along with the Daibutsu within.<ref name=shogun/> Though extensive efforts were made to save the building, and the statue, with a chain of 10,000 people conveying buckets of water to put out the blaze, it was for naught in the end. On this terrible occasion, it is said that mysterious fireballs were seen in the skies over [[Edo]], and that one even landed in the garden of [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]].<ref name=shogun/> The temple was rebuilt, but the Daibutsu was not.