Head Temples

Address: 184 Ota, Takaoka-shi, Toyama-ken, 933-0133 Japan
Tel: 0766-44-0610; Fax: 0766-44-1020

 

Kokutai-ji was established by Jiun Myoi 慈雲じうん妙みょう意い (1274–1345). Jiun as a young monk had lived in a hut on Mount Futakami, south of where Kokutai-ji is presently located, practicing meditation as a hermit. The monk Koho Kakumyo 孤こ峰みね覺さとし明あきら (1271–1361), who happened to be on pilgrimage in the area, suggested that he visit the Zen master Shinchi Kakushin 心地ごこち覺さとし心こころ (1207–1298), who was Kakumyo’s own teacher. Jiun followed this advice, traveling to Kakushin’s temple, Kokoku-ji 興國寺こうこくじ, located in Yura in present Wakayama Prefecture. Jiun stayed with Kakushin until, at the age of twenty-four, he experienced a deep enlightenment. Receiving Kakushin’s sanction, he returned to his hut on Mount Futakami and continued his practice. In 1300 Jiun founded the temple Tosho-ji 東ひがし松寺まつでら there, attracting a large number of disciples from throughout the land. Subsequently he won the support of Emperor Go-Daigo 後醍醐ごだいご (r. 1319–1339), who in 1327 awarded him a purple robe and the honorary title Seisen Zenji 清泉きよいずみ禪師ぜんじ, and who bestowed upon his temple the imperial name Kokutai-ji 國泰寺こくたいじ, the Temple of National Peace, with a rank equal to that of Nanzen-ji in Kyoto. The temple was, furthermore, included among the Ankoku-ji 安國寺あんこくじ (Temples for National Peace) system established by the Ashikaga shogunate, at the request of the Northern Dynasty emperor Komyo 光明こうみょう (r. 1336–1348). In 1345 Jiun passed away, leaving the death verse, “In the heavens, the moon; on the earth, a spring.” He was awarded the posthumous title Enichi Shoko Kokushi 慧とし日び聖ひじり光國みつくに師し by Emperor Komyo.

 

The temple suffered a decline during the era of the warfare that continued from the 1470s until the 1550s, particularly during the incursions of the forces under the warlord Uesugi Kenshin 上杉うえすぎ謙信けんしん (1530–1578). However, the temple was restored in the mid-sixteenth century by the twenty-eighth abbot, Settei Shukuyo 雪ゆき庭にわ祝しゅく陽ひ, at the request of Emperor Go-Nara 後ご奈良なら (r. 1526–1557).

The year 1580 appears to have been the time when Kokutai-ji was moved from its original location on Mount Futakami to its present site. The Daihojo building was constructed in 1686, and the Tokugawa shogunate designated Kokutai-ji the headquarters of the Hatto school of Rinzai Zen. In the 1720s a large renovation of the buildings was carried out; the present Dharma Hall dates from this time. The temple felt the effects of the government’s anti-Buddhist policies following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, but the abbots Etsuju 越えつ受 and Setsumon 雪ゆき門もん were able to restore many of the temple buildings with the aid of the imperial advisor and master swordsman Yamaoka Tesshu 山岡やまおか鐵舟てっしゅう (1836–1888). Setsumon was also one of the earliest Zen teachers to the famous scholars Nishida Kitaro 西田にしだ幾多郎きたろう (1870–1945) and Suzuki Daisetsu 鈴木すずき大拙だいせつ (1870–1966). Kokutai-ji remains the largest Zen monastery in the Hokuriku region, maintaining a formal training hall (sodo) and opening its doors to meditation students both lay and ordained.