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is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo sect in Zaimokuza, near Kamakura, Japan, the only major one in the city to be close to the sea. Kōmyō-ji is number one among the , a group of 18 Jōdo temples established during the Edo period by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and dedicated to both the training of priests and scholarly research.〔 It is also the sect's head temple for the Kantō region.〔 In spite of the fact it is a Jōdo sect temple, Kōmyō-ji has several of the typical features of a Zen temple, for example a ''sanmon'' (main gate), a pond and a ''karesansui'' (rock garden). Kōmyō-ji has always enjoyed the patronage of Japan's powerful and is the only Buddhist temple in Kamakura to have had the privilege of being a daimyo's funeral temple.〔 It was chosen for that role by the Naitō clan, feudal lords from today's Miyazaki Prefecture whose tombs are part of the temple's compound.〔 The temple, besides the usual Buddhist cemetery, maintains a special crypt for the ashes of house pets and other animals, and twice a year holds in the Main Hall ceremonies in their memory.〔 The crypt was created and is maintained by a group of veterinarian volunteers.〔 The temple holds occasional music concerts in its main hall, concerts that are announced in its (Web site ). For 3500 yen, visitors who make a reservation can try at Kōmyō-ji the vegetarian food the resident priests themselves eat. Entrance is free, with the exception of the ''sanmon'', which can be visited only telephoning the temple, explaining the motives for the planned visit, making a reservation and paying a small fee. ==History== Kōmyō-ji's precise origins are unclear. According to the temple itself, it was founded by Kamakura's fourth regent and ''de facto'' ruler of Japan Hōjō Tsunetoki. According to this version of events, it was originally built in 1240 in the Sasukegayatsu Valley near Jufuku-ji for famous Buddhist priest Nenna :ja:Ryōchū (also known by his posthumous name Kishu Zenji).〔 It was then called Renge-ji, or "Temple of Lotuses", a name which is still part of its official full name.〔Shirai (1976:116-117)〕〔Mutsu (1995/06: 293-312)〕 Tradition says Tsunetoki received in a dream the divine order to rename the temple Kōmyō-ji, or "Temple of the Shining Light", and soon thereafter decided to move it to its present location near the sea.〔 The usual date given by the temple itself for the transfer and the name change is 1243, however it isn't clearly supported by any historical record.〔 It would be therefore more precise to say that the date of foundation is unclear.〔Kamiya Vo.1 (2008:146-151)〕 According to a variant of the theory, Renge-ji was originally opened for Ryōchū by Hōjō Tomonao (a.k.a. :ja:Osaragi Tomonao) with the name .〔 Kōmyō-ji was later sponsored by Hōjō Tokiyori and other Kamakura regents, acquiring a and becoming a center of Amidist devotion in the Kantō region.〔Kōmyō-ji official Web site, (Kōmyō-ji ni tsuite ), accessed on February 18, 2009 〕 Ryōchū presided over the temple for more than forty years, dying there in 1287.〔 During the following years, the temple enjoyed the continuous religious and financial support of emperors, shoguns and daimyos, among them Ashikaga Takauji and several other Muromachi period shoguns, ''taikō'' Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and their generosity is well attested by the temple's archives.〔 Three different emperors, Go-Hanazono, Go-Tsuchimikado and Go-Uda, donated it their own calligraphy.〔 During the Muromachi period it was restored by Yūshō Shōnin and in 1495 Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado made it his praying temple.〔 When Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1547 created the group of temples, he dedicated it to the training of priests and scholarship, and put Kōmyō-ji at its top.〔〔Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei〕 The buildings presently part of its compound belong to different eras, the ''sōmon'' (first gate) being the oldest (it was built in the first half of the 17th century) and the ''Kaisandō'' (Founder's Hall) the newest (having been built in 1924).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kōmyō-ji (Kamakura)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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