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a rainy day / Bamboo Entrance

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location : Kyoto Daitokuji Koto-in Temple ,Kyoto city,Kyoto Prefecture,Japan

 

京都 紫野 大徳寺塔頭 高桐院

 

Kotoin Zen Temple

 

Koto-in was established in 1601 at the behest of the famed military leader Hosokawa Tadaoki(1563-1645).It is a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji located within the precincts of the main temple. Hosokawa was one of the greater warriors of his time. And one of the few to survive the bloody wars which culminated in the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868) in the beginning of the seventeenth century.in addition to martial skills ,he was a man of great intellectual attainment and taste. Although his wife,Gratia(1563-1600) was a devout believer in outlawed Catholic faith and the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582) ,notorious as the leader of an unsuccessful revolt, it is a tribute to Hosokawa’s brilliane that he was unaffected by his wife’s associations. He fought under the banner of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in Koriea and was aleading figure in the ward which led to the establishment of the Tokugawa house.

Rewarded with vast domain, in his later life he devoted himself to the study of Zen under the famouse Daitoku-ji abbot,Seigan(1588-1661)and was noted also as one of the most distinguished disciples of the eminent tea master ,SenRikyu(1521-1594).

 

The famous tea house known as Shoko-ken which stands at this temple was built by Hosokawa. Equally admired is the tea-house ,known as Horai,Next to it stands a famous wash-basin,hollowed from a stone brought to Japan from the Imperial Palace in Koria.In the prencincts of this temple are the remains of Lord Hosokawa and his wife,Lady Gratia. The grave is a stone lantern which Hosakawa loved before his death.

 

Koto-in has in its possession numerous rare paintings and art objects, both Chinese and Japanese. Many of these are classed as National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and are of prime importance in the cultural and artistic history of Japan. The garden of this temple is a masterpiece of elegant simplicity, and is famed for the beauty of its maples .

 

- Koto-in Temple

 

 

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Uploaded on May 17, 2016
Taken on May 16, 2016