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Sôgen-ji was a [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] temple in [[Tomari]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], originally constructed in [[1475]].<ref>Gallery labels at [[Tamaudun]].[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282589387/sizes/h/]</ref> 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 in [[1475]].<ref>Gallery labels at [[Tamaudun]].[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282589387/sizes/h/]</ref> 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. [[Chinese investiture envoys]] regularly paid formal visits to Sôgen-ji, and to these stelae, performing a ritual in honor of the late former king, prior to the ceremony at [[Shuri castle]] investing the new king in his position.<ref>Plaques at former site of the [[Tenshikan]], Naha.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21257376353/sizes/k/]</ref> 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:  

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. [[Chinese investiture envoys]] regularly paid formal visits to Sôgen-ji, and to these stelae, performing a ritual in honor of the late former king, prior to the ceremony at [[Shuri castle]] [[investiture|investing]] the new king in his position.<ref>Plaques at former site of the [[Tenshikan]], Naha.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21257376353/sizes/k/]</ref> 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:  

<center>1st Shô Dynasty | 2nd Shô Dynasty | Satto, Shunten, Eiso | 2nd Shô Dynasty | 1st Shô Dynasty</center>

<center>1st Shô Dynasty | 2nd Shô Dynasty | Satto, Shunten, Eiso | 2nd Shô Dynasty | 1st Shô Dynasty</center>

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.

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. Some restoration work was undertaken in the early 1950s, the first major project to restore cultural properties damaged in the war.<ref>Tze May Loo, ''Heritage Politics: Shuri Castle and Okinawa's Incorporation into Modern Japan, 1879-2000'', Lexington Books (2014), 159.</ref>

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