Shoganji Temple: A Soto Zen Buddhist Temple in Nagano
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Japan
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Tokugawa
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Monastery
On this page12 sections
History
Shoganji Temple is a Soto Zen Buddhist temple in Japan, located in Kinasa, Nagano City. Its predecessor, Kidateyama Jizo-in, is traditionally dated to 969 and is associated with the local legend of the warrior Taira no Koremochi and Momiji, a legendary woman portrayed in local tradition as a demon or ogress. After Koremochi defeated Momiji, a Jizo Bodhisattva image she had worshipped was enshrined at the temple. Jizo is a compassionate Buddhist figure traditionally associated with protecting travelers, children, and the dead.
From Jizo-in to Soto Zen
Shoganji took its present religious direction in 1615, when Shogan Hoshu arrived from Seigenji in Azumi District and became its founding abbot. The temple changed from Shingon Buddhism, an esoteric Buddhist school associated in Japan with Kukai, to Soto Zen, a tradition emphasizing seated meditation and monastic discipline. Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, became the principal object of worship. The temple is also considered to have been influenced by Kenkoji on Togakushi Mountain and by Shugendo, a Japanese mountain religious tradition combining Buddhist, Shinto, and ascetic practices.
Shogan Hoshu came from the Matsumoto family of Kinasa Village and also founded Daisho-ji in the former Togakushi Village, another place linked with the Momiji legend. The temple crest, formed by a three-tiered pine, is traditionally said to represent the three branches of the Matsumoto family that supported the temple’s establishment.
Reorganization and expansion
The third abbot, Doku-shitsu En’ei, came from Myoshoji in the former Takafu Village, now Ogawa Village. He made Shoganji a branch temple of Myoshoji and organized its buildings and maintenance system. He is regarded as the temple’s restorer and later founding abbot. Tradition credits him with changing the mountain name from Kidateyama to Ryounzan, although another tradition attributes the change to the eighth abbot, Honyo, in 1767. That account connects the renaming with prolonged rain and the resulting impoverishment of local villagers.
Shoganji also became connected with other religious institutions in the surrounding area. Shofukuji in the former Kinasa Village became its branch temple after its revival under a new founding abbot during the Keicho era. In 1878, Zenshoji at Mount Mushikura in the former Tsumashina Village became a branch temple under Shoganji’s fourteenth abbot, Tokushu. Shoganji administers the Tsuchikura Monjudo, which enshrines a guardian Buddhist image associated with Kiso Yoshinaka, and the Yamasumi Kannondo, both in the Kinasa area.
In 1789, Senjo Jitsugan, abbot of Chokokuji in Matsushiro, was invited to serve as precept master at a formal ordination assembly held at Shoganji. His writings include poetic work about a journey to Kinasa. The temple is also associated with the Momiji legend as the place of her posthumous memorial observance. A Jizo image regarded as her guardian image is enshrined in the monks’ quarters.
Fire, rebuilding, and later recognition
After the Meiji Restoration, part of the temple complex was temporarily used by a school from 1873 and by a village office from 1885. A fire on June 3, 1892, destroyed the main hall and monks’ quarters. The school and village office were subsequently built on a plateau behind the temple, while the temple buildings were reconstructed in later stages. Shoganji’s historic architectural remains, including the Kannondo, sutra repository, Kannondo sangaku, and Tutelary Hall, were designated Nagano City tangible cultural properties in 2005.
Remains
Temple buildings
Kannondo
The Kannondo was built in 1625 on the site of the former Kidateyama Jizo-in. It forms part of the temple complex with the main hall, monks’ quarters, sutra repository, and Tutelary Hall. The hall is a designated Nagano City cultural-property structure and contains the Shoganji Kannondo sangaku, a Japanese mathematical votive tablet presenting a mathematical problem or solution as a religious offering.
Main hall and monks’ quarters
The main hall dates from 1730, and the monks’ quarters from 1758. Both buildings were destroyed in the 1892 fire. The main hall was rebuilt in 1903, while a temporary monks’ quarters remained in use for approximately 70 years before a rebuilt structure replaced it in 1973. A Jizo Bodhisattva image and an image of Bishamonten attributed to Kukai were placed in the memorial tablet hall in 1766. The Jizo image remains there. Bishamonten is a Buddhist guardian deity associated with protection and warfare.
Sutra repository and Tutelary Hall
The sutra repository dates from 1795, and the Tutelary Hall is another component of the historic complex. The sutra repository and Tutelary Hall, like the Kannondo, are designated Nagano City cultural-property structures. Together with the other buildings, they express the successive development of Shoganji’s religious compound.
Memorials and associated worship halls
Memorial monuments
The grounds contain a gorinto memorial tower associated with a mathematician and a literary monument to the novelist Yasunari Kawabata. A gorinto is a five-element Buddhist memorial monument composed of stacked geometric forms. The memorial tablet hall also preserves the Jizo image connected with the temple’s observance for Momiji.
Tsuchikura Monjudo and Yamasumi Kannondo
Shoganji’s administered religious sites extend beyond the main grounds. The Tsuchikura Monjudo contains the guardian Buddhist image associated with Kiso Yoshinaka, while the Yamasumi Kannondo is another worship hall administered by the temple in the Kinasa area.
