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[[Image:Engakuji-Shuri.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Engaku-ji as it appears today, with elements of the entry area rebuilt. The central areas of the temple grounds remain completely unrestored.]]

[[Image:Engakuji-Shuri.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Engaku-ji as it appears today, with elements of the entry area rebuilt. The central areas of the temple grounds remain completely unrestored.]]

*''Established: [[1492]]''

*''Established: [[1492]]''

*''Japanese'': 円覚寺 ''(Engakuji)''

*''Japanese'': 円覚寺 ''(Engakuji)''

Engaku-ji was a Buddhist temple on the grounds of [[Shuri castle]] on [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]]. Established in [[1492]], it was destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, and today only the gates of the temple have been rebuilt.

Engaku-ji was the family temple for the second [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]], and the head temple of [[Rinzai Zen]] in [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]]. Established in [[1492]] and constructed over the next three years, it was located just north of [[Shuri Castle]], just outside the castle walls. Designated a [[National Treasure]] in 1933, the temple was destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, and today only the gates of the temple have been rebuilt.

The temple is named after the [[Zen]] temple [[Engakuji]] in [[Kamakura]], and was designed by an immigrant Japanese Zen priest based on, or at least inspired by, the pattern or layout of that temple. A temple bell which was to become much celebrated was cast in [[1496]], and a stone bridge immediately behind the main gate - one of the few elements reconstructed and intact today - was thrown across the pond two years later.

The temple was founded by King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] in order to enshrine the spirit of his father, King [[Sho En|Shô En]]. The Zen master [[Kaiin]] of [[Nanzenji]] served as the first abbot of Engaku-ji, which he named after and based on the [[Zen]] temple [[Engakuji]] in [[Kamakura]]. A temple bell which was to become much celebrated was cast in [[1496]].

Engaku-ji was also closely tied to a [[Bentendo|Benten-dô]] located in a pond nearby on the castle grounds; a particularly important set of Buddhist texts from Korea, gifted to the kingdom by Korea, were kept here until they were stolen and taken back to Japan during the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]].

Three main gates faced west, towards the Enkanchi (Enkan Pond) and [[Bentendo|Benten-dô]] ([[Benten]] Hall). Beyond them, a small pond known as Hôjô-chi was spanned by a small stone bridge called Hôjô-kyô, built in 1496. This path, from the central gate and across the bridge, led directly to the inner temple gate, and then to the main plaza, or ''[[garan]]'', of the temple, including a Buddha Hall, and Ryûenden Hall, now gone.

 

 

Engaku-ji was closely tied to the Benten-dô located just opposite its gates; a particularly important set of Buddhist texts from Korea, gifted to the kingdom by Korea, were kept in this Benten Hall until they were stolen and taken back to Japan during the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]].

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==References==

==References==

*Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Revised Edition. Tuttle Publishing, 2000. pp109ff.

*Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Revised Edition. Tuttle Publishing, 2000. pp109ff.

[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Temples]]

[[Category:Temples]]