Hōgon-ji (宝厳寺) is a Buddhist temple located on Chikubushima in the city of Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Shingon-shū Buzan-ha sect of Japanese Buddhism and its honzon is a hibutsu statue of Benzaiten. The temple's full name is Iwakin-san Hōgon-ji (巖金山 寶嚴寺), but it is popularly known as the "Chikubushima Kannon". The temple is the 30th stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage route.
Overview
The island of Chikubushima, located near the northern tip of Lake Biwa, is a small island with a circumference of 2 kilometers and an area of approximately 0.14 square kilometers (see fig. 1). It has been designated a National Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty.
Except for a dock in the southeast, the island is surrounded by steep cliffs. It contains only a few souvenir shops and Hōgon-ji and Tsukubusuma Shrine. While the two are now separated, this distinction was only made after the Shinbutsu Bunri (law for separating Shinto and Buddhism) was enacted in the early Meiji period. From the Heian period through the early modern period, syncretistic Shinto-Buddhist worship was practiced on Chikubushima. The temple's main hall, the Kannon-dō, is directly connected to the honden of Tsukubusuma Shrine by two connecting corridors, demonstrating the original inseparable relationship between the two. Chikubushima is supposedly one of the places where the goddess Benzaiten, who is related to water and one of the Seven Gods of Luck, lived.
Benzaiten is the Japanese adaptation of the Indian goddess Sarasvati, who is also the goddess of eloquence, learning, military prowess, and a musician. The temple ranks with the Enoshima Shrine in the Kanto region, and the Itsukushima Shrine in the Chugoku region as the three great Japanese shrines dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten. The area of Lake Biwa and the surrounding mountains are mentioned many times in the famous Genji Monogatari.
History
Hōgon-ji is said to have been founded by Gyōki during the Nara period. Gyōki was a monk who dedicated himself to social work such as bridge construction and flood control and irrigation. He is said to have enjoyed great support from the people. Many temples throughout the Kinki region are said to have been founded by Gyōki. According to the temple's legend, in 724, Emperor Shōmu had a dream in which Amaterasu appeared to him and told him, "There is a small island in the middle of a lake in Gōshū. This island is sacred to Benzaiten. Build a temple on it. Doing so will bring peace to the nation, bountiful harvests, and prosperity to all people." The emperor then issued an imperial command to Gyōki to visit Chikubushima Island and enshrine a statue of Benzaiten at Tsukubusuma Shrine, whose main deity was a kami named Azaihime-no-Mikoto. This is said to be the origin of the temple. The following year, in 725, Gyōki proposed the construction of a Kannon-dō, and later, the lord of Azai County, Ōmi Province, who carried on his wishes, enshrined a Senjū Kannon statue there.
However, the Chikubushima Engi, compiled in 931, states that Gyōki arrived on the island in 738, when he built a small chapel and enshrined the Four Heavenly Kings, marking the beginning of the temple. According to the same engi, in 753, a man named Azai Naomakai, the lord of Azai County, Ōmi Province, erected and enshrined the Senjū Kannon statue. Originally, the temple was called Hongō-ji and was under the control of Tōdai-ji. However, in the early Heian period, around the 10th century, like many other temples in Ōmi Province, it came under the umbrella of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei and became a Tendai temple. The island subsequently became a training ground for Tendai Buddhist monks.
Tsukufusuma Shrine, located next to the temple grounds, is listed in the Engishiki Shinmei-chō. However, since Azaihime-no-mikoto is said to be the guardian deity of the Azai clan and also a water deity who controls the lake, towards the end of the Heian period, this deity came to be identified with Benzaiten, the Buddhist water deity (originally a river deity of Indian origin). Eventually, Ichikishimahime-no-mikoto, who is also considered to be the same as Benzaiten, was also enshrined, and as a result of the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, Tsukufusuma Shrine became integrated with the temple. Eventually, the temple and shrine names merged, and the island became known as "Chikubushima Daijingū-ji" or "Chikubushima Gongen". The temple buildings have been destroyed by fires on several occasions, notably in 1232 and 1454, but have been rebuilt each time. Another fire occurred in 1558, but in 1602, Toyotomi Hideyori ordered Katagiri Katsumoto to rebuild the temple. During the Toyotomi era, the Karamon Gate (a National Treasure (NT)), the Kannon-dō (an Important Cultural Property (ICP)), the connecting corridor (ICP), and the main hall (now the honden of Tsukufusuma Shrine, (NT) connected to the connecting corridor were reconstructed. The Karamon Gate was relocated from the Toyokuni Mausoleum in Kyoto, while the main hall was relocated from either Toyokuni Shrine or from the Higurashi Palace or Imperial Envoy Hall in Fushimi Castle.
Even during the Edo period, the temple remained popular as a pilgrimage site for Benzaiten worship and as a temple on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. However, following the Meiji era's separation of Shinto and Buddhism, the government forced the name of the main hall, Benten-dō, to be changed to "Tsukufusuma Shrine," as it appears in the Heian-period Engishiki. In 1871, the Ōtsu Prefectural Government ordered the abolition of Hōgon-ji as a Buddhist temple, putting the temple in a critical state. However, the temple insisted that Benzaiten was a Buddhist deity, not a Shinto kami. Ultimately, the religious facilities on Chikubushima were separated into Hōgon-ji Temple and Tsukufusuma Shrine. When the boundary between the "temple" and "shrine" was established in 1874, the building that had been the temple's main hall became the honden of Tsukufusuma Shrine. The property was divided between the temple and shrine in 1883, and has remained under their respective management ever since. Since the separation of the temple and shrine, Hōgon-ji was left without a main hall; the current main hall was built in 1942.
Architectural style
Hondō
The original temple was rebuilt in 1602 so there is no real documentation on what it actually looked like. However, the rebuilt Hōgon-ji strongly resembles the common architectural attributes of a Buddhist Amida Hall. Amida Halls, however, did not reportedly start being built until around 1051 CE Hōgon-ji (see fig. 4) seen today is a good example of traditional Japanese twists on Chinese architecture. This can be seen in the Chinese trait of the temple being off the ground on a base platform. However, despite the fact that the temple is on an elevated platform, it does not make the building look isolated and removed from its environment as some Chinese structures appear to be, but instead the Japanese architects have made it appear as if it is floating on the terrain and integrated with the environment. The fact that the Hōgon-ji was built in honor of Benzaiten probably explains why the temple looks like it is floating on the ground and why flowing lines in the architecture are important.
The temple obviously uses the traditional Chinese and Japanese post-and-lintel style. This is evidenced in the vertical columns that support horizontal beams. The front of the temple appears to have three bays or architectural sections, one bay on the left side of the doors, the bay with the three doors, and the bay on the right side of the doors. On top of the wooden vertical columns in the front of the temple are typical Japanese 3-on-1 bracket complexes. These bracket complexes are what support the horizontal beams above them. The three part eave on the front of the temple is a stylistic trait of the Amida Halls. The middle section of the temple's exterior makes the temple look as if it is more than one story; however, due to the style of Amida Halls it is most likely just a mokoshi. A mokoshi is a gap in the architectural rafters that make a structure appear more stories than it actually is. Mokoshi also make a structure appear as if it has one roof over another. Three-stepped bracket complexes that support the actual roof are composed of three of the 3-on-1 looking brackets stacked on top of each other with each 3-on-1 bracket supporting a ceiling beam. The ends of these beams can be seen decoratively sticking out from the structure at the corners of the actual roof. This bracket system is a very common trait of traditional Japanese architecture. It is documented that the more complex a structure's bracket system is, the more important it is considered. The square flying rafters that extend just to the edge of the underside of the eave roofs and actual roof are a touch that both accentuates the curvature of the roofs and adds a natural element of simple decoration. As apparent, the roof is indeed curved, a trait carried over from Chinese architecture. However, Chinese curved roofs were curved much shallower than their Japanese successors. As seen in fig. 4, the curvature of the temple's actual roof is quite drastic. Also, the downward angle of the actual roof itself is quite steep. This angle is most likely to help with rainwater run-off and symbolic of apotropaic qualities. Curved roofs were commonly believed to ward off evil spirits because evil spirits hated curves and that they would also fall off of the roof due to its drastic angle. Thus, curved roofs are very commonly used in Chinese and Japanese architecture. The sag in both the eave roof and the actual roof is a trait reminiscent of Chinese architecture. Yet, the upward turned corners of the roof are a distinctly Japanese trait that was not seen in Japanese architecture before the Heian period. The temple has what is termed a hogyō, a pyramidal roof that converges at a central point. Also commonly seen in Chinese and Japanese architecture are ridges curving along the top curves of the actual roof. Overall, the architecture of the temple is very plain and undecorated compared to some of the more ornate temples. This could be because the temple is Buddhist and therefore, its patrons hold to the idea of moderation in life. Yet, because of its simplicity it looks very elegant, flowing, and natural in the surrounding environment.
Karamon Gate
The Karamon Gate was moved to its current location during the temple's renovation in 1602 (see fig. 5).