Jiju-in

The gates to Jiju-in.
  • Founded: 1428, Hino Eishi
  • Other Names: 広徳山 (Koutoku-zan), 竹之御所 (Take no gosho), 烏丸御所 (Karasuma gosho)
  • Japanese: 慈受院 (Jiju-in)

Jiju-in was a prominent nunnery established in 1428 by Hino Eishi, in following with the last wishes of her late husband, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who died the previous year.

Following its establishment, numerous members of the Imperial family, members of the kuge such as the Konoe and Hanayama families, and of the Ashikaga family, took the tonsure and resided here. Its abbesses were always taken from the Imperial family, or the families of the sesshô and kampaku regents.

The temple has been moved from its original location, where it was erected on the former site of Fujiwara no Michinaga's Hôjô-ji; Hôjô-ji was the model for the Usugumo Palace which appears in the Tale of Genji, and as a result, Jiju-in has taken on the name "Usugumo Palace" (Usugumo gosho) as well.

References

  • Plaques on site.

External Links