Hōshun-in, Buddhist sub-temple in Daitoku-ji complex, Kyoto, Japan
Hōshun-in is a sub-temple within the Daitoku-ji complex located at the northern edge of the grounds and features multiple rooms designed for tea ceremonies alongside traditional Japanese architecture. The buildings display characteristic wood construction, tatami mat interiors, and small landscaped gardens typical of Zen temples.
Hōshun-in was founded in 1608 by Maeda Matsu, wife of Toshiie Maeda, as the family temple of the Kaga Maeda clan, with Gyokushitsu Sohaku as founding priest. The 1796 fire destroyed the original buildings; the eleventh Maeda head, Maeda Haruyuki, rebuilt them two years later. The temple declined during the Meiji persecution of Buddhism and was restored in 1875. Its Shōdō hall, the Dongokaku, was first built in 1617 by Yokoi Tōi after consulting Kobori Enshū; the present structure dates to 1815.
The temple holds the mortuary tablets of Maeda Matsu, her son Toshinaga and grandson Toshitsune, and the Maeda family made it their family temple. The tea houses Rakuyō-tei, Shōgetsu-ken and Nyorai-an stand on the grounds, and the garden in front of the hōjō, the Hōgan-tei, is said to show water flowing from mountain streams back to the sea.
Hōshun-in is not normally open to the public, so it cannot be visited like the main Daitoku-ji halls. It lies at the northernmost end of the Daitoku-ji precinct; from the Daitoku-ji-mae bus stop, about 30 minutes from JR Kyoto Station, it is roughly a 10-minute walk.
The two-storey Shōdō pavilion is properly called Tōkaku (呑湖閣), not Donkokaku, and its current structure dates from 1815, as recorded on the finial inscription. It is counted among Kyoto's four great pavilions alongside Kinkaku, Ginkaku and Hiunkaku, and is a Kyoto Prefectural Tangible Cultural Property. The temple is normally closed to the public.
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