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Sôgen-ji was a [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] temple in [[Tomari]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], originally constructed during the reign of King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] (r. 1477-1526). All that survives of the temple today are its thick, heavy stone gates, which were originally constructed during an expansion of the temple in [[1496]].

Sôgen-ji was a [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] temple in [[Tomari]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], originally constructed during the reign of King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] (r. 1477-1526). All that survives of the temple today are its thick, heavy stone gates, which were originally constructed during an expansion of the temple in [[1496]].

At that same time in [[1496]], stelae were erected in honor of all the kings of [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], making the temple both a shrine to each of the kings of the past, and also a shrine to the kingdom itself. In [[1527]], a pair of stelae were erected at the gates declaring that all who enter, even the reigning king himself, were expected to dismount before passing through the gates.

At that same time in [[1496]], stelae were erected in honor of all the kings of [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], making the temple both a shrine to each of the kings of the past, and also a shrine to the kingdom itself. These stelae were typically organized according to a system of Ryukyuan custom, with the earliest Okinawan kings, [[Shunten]], [[Eiso]], and [[Satto]], at the center, and the kings of the First Shô Dynasty on each end of the row, and the latest kings, those of the Second Shô Dynasty, between them. In short, the arrangement looked something like this:

The temple was a branch temple of [[Engaku-ji (Okinawa)|Engaku-ji]], the chief Rinzai temple in the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|kingdom]], which was located just outside the grounds of [[Shuri castle]]. The grounds of Sôgenji covered more than 1230 ''[[tsubo]]'', following a layout with a Chinese flavor, but surrounded by a distinctively Ryukyuan stone wall. When [[Chinese investiture envoys]] came to the kingdom, before visiting the castle, they would take part in a ceremony here at Sôgenji in honor of the previous kings. The main buildings of the complex were arranged in a square around an open plaza; entering via the gates to the south and proceeding north, one would first encounter the ''zendô'', or "front hall." Passing through it, one comes to the central plaza, flanked by a West Building (西庁) and East Building (東庁), and with the main shrine (正廟) straight ahead to the north. It was within this building that all the kings of Ryûkyû, from [[Shunten]] to [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]], were enshrined, more in the manner of a Chinese Confucian or Daoist temple than that of a Buddhist temple. The ''kuri'' (monks' quarters) was located just east of the main shrine building, north of the East Building.

 

In [[1683]], [[Chinese investiture envoys|Chinese envoy]] [[Wang Ji]] expressed his confusion, or perhaps even distaste, at seeing the stones arranged in this manner. In [[1719]], [[Xu Baoguang]] reported that the stones had been rearranged, and now fit the standard Chinese system, with the reigns simply alternating left and right, extending outwards from the earliest kings at the center, to the latest at the edges. A similar set of tablets erected at [[Engaku-ji (Okinawa)|Engaku-ji]] were temporarily rearranged only when Chinese envoys were about, and were then placed back into the standard Ryukyuan order when the envoys had left.<ref>[[Gregory Smits]], "Ryukyu and its Geo-cultural Context," presentation at [http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/japan/event2013/Index.htm#symposium Interpreting Parades and Processions of Edo Japan symposium], University of Hawaii at Manoa, 10 Feb 2013.</ref>

 

 

The temple was a branch temple of Engaku-ji, the chief Rinzai temple in the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|kingdom]], which was located just outside the grounds of [[Shuri castle]]. The grounds of Sôgenji covered more than 1230 ''[[tsubo]]'', following a layout with a Chinese flavor, but surrounded by a distinctively Ryukyuan stone wall. When Chinese investiture envoys came to the kingdom, before visiting the castle, they would take part in a ceremony here at Sôgenji in honor of the previous kings. The main buildings of the complex were arranged in a square around an open plaza; entering via the gates to the south and proceeding north, one would first encounter the ''zendô'', or "front hall." Passing through it, one comes to the central plaza, flanked by a West Building (西庁) and East Building (東庁), and with the main shrine (正廟) straight ahead to the north. It was within this building that all the kings of Ryûkyû, from [[Shunten]] to [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]], were enshrined, more in the manner of a Chinese Confucian or Daoist temple than that of a Buddhist temple. The ''kuri'' (monks' quarters) was located just east of the main shrine building, north of the East Building.

Many of the temple's buildings were declared [[National Treasures]] in 1933, but were then destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, leaving only sections of the stone walls/gates intact.

Many of the temple's buildings were declared [[National Treasures]] in 1933, but were then destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, leaving only sections of the stone walls/gates intact.

*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.

*"Sôgenji" 崇元寺. ''Okinawa hyakka daijiten'' (Okinawa Encyclopedia). vol. 2. Okinawa Times, 1983. pp610-611.

*"Sôgenji" 崇元寺. ''Okinawa hyakka daijiten'' (Okinawa Encyclopedia). vol. 2. Okinawa Times, 1983. pp610-611.

[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Temples]]

[[Category:Temples]]