Sōji-ji

Coordinates: 35°30′25.16″N 139°40′17.25″E / 35.5069889°N 139.6714583°E / 35.5069889; 139.6714583
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sōji-ji
總持寺
Shaka Nyorai (Śākyamuni)
StatusHead Temple
Location
Location2-Chōme 1-1 Tsurumi, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
CountryJapan
Geographic coordinates35°30′25.16″N 139°40′17.25″E / 35.5069889°N 139.6714583°E / 35.5069889; 139.6714583
Architecture
FounderGyōki (acc. legend)
Keizan (conversion)
CompletedNara period (acc. legend)
1911 (relocation)
Website
http://sojiji.jp/

Sōji-ji (總持寺) is one of two daihonzan (大本山, "head temples") of the

Shingon Buddhist temple. Keizan, later known as Sōtō's great patriarch Taiso Jōsai Daishi, founded the present temple in 1321,[3] when he renamed it Sōji-ji with the help and patronage of Emperor Go-Daigo.[4][5] The temple has about twelve buildings in Tsurumi, part of the port city of Yokohama, one designed by the architect Itō Chūta
.

History

Keizan, the temple's founder

Giving it the name Morooka-dera (諸岳寺) circa 740, Gyōki (668–749) founded the temple as a Shingon Buddhist temple in Noto, a peninsula on Honshu, Japan's largest island. At that time, the temple was a small chapel within the precincts of a larger Shinto shrine called Morooka Hiko Jinja. By 1296, the temple had grown enough to support a full-time priest and a master ajari named Jōken was assigned there.[6]

The Shrine was relocated 1321 to a new estate and Jōken went with it. Jōken entrusted the former temple to

Shingon) into full-time temples, which in turn helped Sōji-ji's network grow.[8]

The temple was totally destroyed by fire in 1898. It was rebuilt over a period of several years and, to bring more Sōtō Zen to eastern Japan, reopened in 1911 in its present location at Tsurumi, Yokohama. Sōji-ji-soin (the "father" temple)[9] was built on the original Noto site for monks in training. It sustained considerable damage in the 2007 Noto earthquake.[10]

Routine

Man wearing a long dark robe about halfway down a corridor
Monk in the corridor which is polished like glass twice a day

According to a mid-20th century description, the monks' day begins at 3 a.m. in summer and one hour later in winter. First they practice

sūtras for visitors. They eat rice and vegetables for lunch and then from 1 to 3 p.m. they return to perform services for visitors. They eat rice gruel for dinner at 5 p.m. From 6 to 8 p.m. the head monk teaches them sutra reading, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. they return to practice zazen, and then go to sleep at 9 p.m.[11]

Abbot

The

Zenji (English: Master of Zen), and oversees 200 monks and novices in residence.[2] Egawa Shinzan Zenji holds the positions of Abbot of Sōji-ji Soin Training Monastery, administrator of Sōji-ji and Soji-ji Soin, and vice rector, resident priest, assistant head priest, and head priest of related organizations.[3]

Temple compound

Elaborately decorated room, symmetrical, with a gold colored statue on an altar
Butsuden

The core of the temple consists of seven structures forming the so-called

Gautama Buddha (Shaka Nyorai). The Shōkurō contains the [[:ja:梵鐘|bonshō]] bell, the drum, the cloud gong or umpan, and the wooden drum (moppan), used to signal the monks' daily routine. The Hōkō-dō is used for memorial rites to ancestors of lay persons, for whom the monks perform services.[12]

Among outreach activities, the Sōji Gakuen Academy is a school system where the students study the Buddha's teaching. The academy has a kindergarten, middle school, high school, and university. Sōji also has child care and a hospital.[12]

Blue skies, pointed roof on a building in front
The Koshakudai building contains the kitchen.

The Koshakudai holds the monks' living quarters.[4]

School

Tsurumi University

Affiliates

Branches

In the United States

  • Zenshuji Soto Mission

See also

Gallery

  • The entrance
    The entrance
  • Daisō-dō or Hattō, the main training center, designed by Itō Chūta
    Daisō-dō or
    Hattō, the main training center, designed by Itō Chūta
  • On a raised platform some of the monks' zafu, used for zazen
    On a raised platform some of the monks' zafu, used for zazen
  • Sunrise 2007
    Sunrise 2007
  • A painting of Bodhidharma in the reception hall
    A painting of Bodhidharma in the reception hall
  • The meditation hall, or shuryō (衆寮)
    The meditation hall, or shuryō (衆寮)

References

  1. ^ "Touring Venerable Temples of Soto Zen Buddhism in Japan Plan". SotoZen-Net. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Soji-ji". Random House. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Head Temples". SotoZen.net. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "Sojiji". A Guide to Kamakura. Asahi net. March 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  5. ISBN 978-0-19-532677-2
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8248-3303-9
    .
  7. ^ "Kanji for JI". jp41.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8248-3303-9
    .
  9. ^ "Daihonzan Sojiji Soin Temple". Noto Style. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  10. ^ "Sojiji Temple". Japan Guide. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  11. ^ "A Soto-Shu Monk" (PDF). Zen Notes. 1 (4). First Zen Institute of America. April 1954. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  12. ^ a b Sotoshu Shumucho (planner and producer), Kindai Eiga Kyokai (production). Life of Zen. SotoZen.net. Event occurs at Sojiji 5:00, 6:45, 8:28, 9:45. Retrieved March 15, 2012.

External links

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