Tōshō-ji, Buddhist temple in Yakage, Japan
Tōshō-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple in Yokotani, Yakage, Okayama Prefecture, with the mountain name Funaki-san and a main image of Hōkan Shaka Nyorai. Its grounds hold a main hall, founder's hall with memorial hall, meditation hall with reception rooms, abbot's quarters with study, kitchen, bell tower, and two gates, all registered national Tangible Cultural Properties in 2011.
Tradition holds that the temple began in the Asuka period as Hōsō-shū Funaki-san Tōshō-shi-in, after Emperor Tenji viewed a pine planted on the site. In 1184, when Emperor Antoku's ship was wrecked, several hundred timbers were donated and the name changed to Tōshō-ji. In 1412, Kizan Shōsan of Enshū's Daihō-in revived it at the request of the Shō clan of Sarugakaki Castle, with Jochū Tenging as founder.
The temple's name derives from a pine at a site called Sendō-gosato, where, according to tradition, a tree was granted the title "Tōshō no Tsukasa" after Empress Jingū's expedition to the Korean peninsula. The temple documents, 43 letters dating from 1448 to 1599, record fields, donations and temple lands in southern Bitchū Province and are now deposited at the Yakage Cultural Center.
The temple is located in Yakage, Okayama Prefecture, where visitors can explore the grounds. It is helpful to check access times in advance and wear appropriate clothing to show respect for the sacred space.
In 2011 the temple's main hall, founder's hall, meditation hall, abbot's quarters, bell tower and gates were registered as nationally registered tangible cultural properties, not as Important Cultural Properties. The temple documents, 43 letters from 1448 to 1599, are a separate prefectural cultural property.
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