Changes

*''Japanese'': 寛永寺 ''(Kan'ei-ji)''

*''Japanese'': 寛永寺 ''(Kan'ei-ji)''

Kan'ei-ji is a [[Tendai]] Buddhist temple located in [[Ueno Park]]; along with [[Zojo-ji|Zôjô-ji]], it was one of two [[Tokugawa clan]] family temples in the Tokugawa shogunal capital of [[Edo]]. Six [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shoguns]] were buried on the temple grounds; six more are buried at Zôjô-ji.

Kan'ei-ji is a [[Tendai]] Buddhist temple located in [[Ueno Park]]; along with [[Zojo-ji|Zôjô-ji]], it was one of two [[Tokugawa clan]] family temples in the Tokugawa shogunal capital of [[Edo]]. Five [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shoguns]] were buried on the temple grounds; six more are buried at Zôjô-ji.

The temple was originally built in [[1625]] to help defend the shogunal capital of [[Edo]] from the unlucky northeastern direction. It was called Tôei-zan ("East-''ei-zan''") in reference to it being an eastern counterpart to [[Mt. Hiei]] (''Hiei-zan''), which guards [[Kyoto]] in the same manner.<ref name=maehira69>Maehira Fusaaki, "''Edo bakufu to Ryûkyû shisetsu - Tôshôgû sankei wo chûshin ni''" 江戸幕府と琉球使節～東照宮参詣を中心に, in ''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'', Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 69.</ref> The construction and establishment of Kan'ei-ji was overseen by [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]; it was founded by the monk [[Tenkai]]<!--天海-->, and served as the center of the Tendai sect for the [[Kanto region|Kantô region]]. Along with [[Rinno-ji|Rinnô-ji]] in [[Nikko|Nikkô]] and [[Enryaku-ji]] on Mt. Hiei, it became one of the chief three Tendai temples in the archipelago, securing, through its connections with the shogunate, the power of Tendai within Japan's religious hierarchies.

The temple was originally built in [[1625]] to help defend the shogunal capital of [[Edo]] from the unlucky northeastern direction. It was called Tôei-zan ("East-''ei-zan''") in reference to it being an eastern counterpart to [[Mt. Hiei]] (''Hiei-zan''), which guards [[Kyoto]] in the same manner.<ref name=maehira69>Maehira Fusaaki, "''Edo bakufu to Ryûkyû shisetsu - Tôshôgû sankei wo chûshin ni''" 江戸幕府と琉球使節～東照宮参詣を中心に, in ''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'', Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 69.</ref> The construction and establishment of Kan'ei-ji was overseen by [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]; it was founded by the monk [[Tenkai]]<!--天海-->, and served as the center of the Tendai sect for the [[Kanto region|Kantô region]]. Along with [[Rinno-ji|Rinnô-ji]] in [[Nikko|Nikkô]] and [[Enryaku-ji]] on Mt. Hiei, it became one of the chief three Tendai temples in the archipelago, securing, through its connections with the shogunate, the power of Tendai within Japan's religious hierarchies.

During the [[battle of Ueno]] in [[1868]], as the shogunate fell, a group of pro-shogunate loyalists known as the [[Shogitai|Shôgitai]] holed up in the temple, which was accordingly attacked. Many of those killed that day are formally buried at the temple.

During the [[battle of Ueno]] in [[1868]], as the shogunate fell, a group of pro-shogunate loyalists known as the [[Shogitai|Shôgitai]] holed up in the temple, which was accordingly attacked. Many of those killed that day are formally buried at the temple.

The temple suffered extensive damage and was all but destroyed completely in the Allied bombings of Tokyo in 1945. Several buildings on the grounds survive, or were rebuilt, but the temple grounds, which once covered the full area of what is today Ueno Park, have been shrunk considerably. The tombs of four shoguns ([[Tokugawa Ieharu]], [[Tokugawa Ienari|Ienari]], [[Tokugawa Iesada|Iesada]], and [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu|Yoshinobu]]) survive, but those of [[Tokugawa Ietsuna]] and [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]] were destroyed.

The temple suffered extensive damage and was all but destroyed completely in the Allied bombings of Tokyo in 1945. Several buildings on the grounds survive, or were rebuilt, but the temple grounds, which once covered the full area of what is today Ueno Park, have been shrunk considerably. The tombs of three shoguns ([[Tokugawa Ieharu]], [[Tokugawa Ienari|Ienari]], and [[Tokugawa Iesada|Iesada]]) survive, but those of [[Tokugawa Ietsuna]] and [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]] were destroyed.

Kan'ei-ji is today a designated [[Important Cultural Property]].

Kan'ei-ji is today a designated [[Important Cultural Property]].