Editing Mii-dera

{{Short description|Historic Buddhist temple in Ōtsu, Shiga prefecture, Japan}}
{{About|the temple in Shiga Prefecture|the temple in Nara Prefecture|Hōrin-ji (Nara)}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name                  = Mii-dera<br />{{nihongo2|三井寺}}
| native_name           = 
| image                 = Miidera-no-bansho-M2075.jpg
| alt                   = 
| caption               = ''Mii-dera no Bansho'' ({{nihongo2|三井寺の晩鐘}}), the evening bell at Mii-dera.
| map_type  = Japan Shiga Prefecture#Japan
| relief  = 1 
| location              = 246 Onjō-ji-chō, [[Ōtsu]], [[Shiga Prefecture]]
| coordinates           = {{Coord|35|00|48|N|135|51|10|E|region:JP_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=title}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Buddhist]]
| rite = [[Jimon and Sanmon|Jimon]] [[Tendai]]
| deity                 = [[Maitreya|Miroku Bosatsu]]
| country               = [[Japan]]
| functional_status     = 
| website               = {{official website|http://www.shiga-miidera.or.jp/|www.shiga-miidera.or.jp/}}
| founded_by            = [[Emperor Tenmu]]
|established=672
| year_completed        = 19th century (Reconstruction)
| footnotes          = {{box|background=white|align=center|wide=yes|border size=3px|border color=red|text align=center|[[National Treasure (Japan)|National Treasure]]}}  {{box|background=white|align=center|wide=yes|border size=3px|border color=pink|text align=center|[[Important Cultural Property (Japan)|National Important Cultural Property (Japan)]]}} {{box|background=white|align=center|wide=yes|border size=3px|border color=brown|text align=center|[[Monuments of Japan|National Historic Site of Japan]]}} {{box|background=white|align=center|wide=yes|border size=3px|border color=green|text align=center|[[Monuments of Japan|National Place of Scenic Beauty]]}} 
}}
[[File:Mii-dera Otsu Shiga pref01s5s4592.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Golden Hall (National Treasure of Japan)]]
[[File:Miidera-Shikyakumon-M2037.jpg|thumb|The ''Shikyaku-mon'' or "Four-Legged Gate".]]
[[File:Mii-dera Otsu Shiga pref18n4200.jpg|thumb|]]
[[File:Statue - Mii-dera - Otsu, Shiga - DSC07249.JPG|thumb|[[Rāgarāja]]]]
[[File:Miidera-kannondo5313.ogv|thumb|Video]]

{{Nihongo|'''Nagara-san Onjo-ji'''|長等山園城寺|Nagarasan Onjōji}}, also known as just '''Onjo-ji''', or {{Nihongo|'''Mii-dera'''|三井寺}}, is a [[Buddhist temples in Japan|Buddhist temple in Japan]] located at the foot of [[Mount Hiei]],<ref name=Hinago>{{Cite book |last=Hinago |first=Motoo |title=Japanese Castles |publisher=Kodansha International Ltd. and Shibundo |year=1986 |isbn=0870117661 |page=41}}</ref><ref name=Sansom>{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=George |title=A History of Japan to 1334 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1958 |isbn=0804705232 |page=221}}</ref> in the city of [[Ōtsu]] in [[Shiga Prefecture]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Iwao|first=Seiichi|title=Dictionnaire historique du Japon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fW9v37poqcQC|year=1963|publisher=Librairie Kinokuniya|isbn=978-2-7068-1632-1|page=2134}}</ref> It is a short distance from both [[Kyoto]], and [[Lake Biwa]], Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the [[Jimon and Sanmon|Jimon]] sect of [[Tendai]], it is a sister temple to [[Enryaku-ji]], at the top of the mountain, and is one of the four largest temples in Japan. Altogether, there are 40 named buildings in the Mii-dera complex.

Mii-dera is temple 14 in the [[Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage]].

==History==
===Founding, and feuds===
Onjō-ji was founded in the [[Nara period]].<ref>Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869,'' p. 114.</ref> The temple was founded in 672 following a dispute over [[Chrysanthemum Throne|Imperial succession]]. [[Emperor Tenji]] had died, and his son was killed by Tenji's brother, who was then enthroned as [[Emperor Tenmu]]. Temmu founded Onjō-ji in honor and memory of his brother.

The name ''Mii-dera'' ("Temple of Three Wells") came about nearly two centuries later. It was given this name by [[Enchin]], one of the earliest abbots of the [[Tendai]] Sect. The name comes from the springs at the temple which were used for the ritual bathing of newborns, and in honor of [[Emperor of Japan|Emperors]] Emperor Tenji and Emperor Tenmu, and [[Empress Jitō]], who contributed to the founding of the temple. Today, the [[Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)|Kondō]], or Main Hall, houses a spring of [[Sacred waters|sacred water]]. Under Enchin's guidance, from 859 to his death in 891, Mii-dera gained power and importance, eventually becoming (along with [[Tōdai-ji]], [[Kōfuku-ji]], and [[Enryaku-ji]]) one of the four chief temples charged with the spiritual guidance and protection of the capital. It was during this time also that Enryaku-ji and Mii-dera split away from one another, developing two branches of the Tendai sect, called [[Jimon and Sanmon]]. For the most part, this was more a geographic rivalry than an ideological schism, but it was an intense one nonetheless, and only grew more severe after Enchin's death.

The rivalry turned violent in the second half of the 10th century, over a series of official appointments to other temples, and similar slights. The [[Sōkan|zasu]] of Enryaku-ji in 970 formed the first permanent standing army to be recruited by a religious body. Mii-dera can be assumed to have established one very soon afterwards. In 989, a former abbot of Mii-dera by the name of [[Yokei]] was to become abbot of Enryaku-ji; but none of the monks of Enryaku-ji would perform services under his direction. He soon resigned. But in 993, the monks of Mii-dera took revenge, destroying a temple where [[Ennin]], founder of Enryaku-ji's Sanmon sect, had once lived. The monks from Enryaku-ji retaliated, destroying more than 40 places associated with Enchin. In the end, over 1,000 monks of Enchin's Jimon sect fled permanently to Mii-dera, cementing the split between the two Sects. Over the course of the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries, there continued to be similar incidents, over the appointment of abbots (''zasu''), involving many ''[[sōhei]]'', or warrior monks. Mii-dera was burned to the ground by the ''sōhei'' of Enryaku-ji four times in the 11th century alone. There were, however, times that the two united against a common enemy, including an attack on the Kōfuku-ji in [[Nara, Nara|Nara]] in 1081 (avenging the burning of the Mii-dera by Kōfuku-ji monks that same year), and a united attack on Nara once more in 1117.

===The Genpei Wars===
At the end of the 12th century, the attentions of the monks of [[Mount Hiei]] were turned towards a greater conflict: the [[Genpei War]]. The [[Taira]] and [[Minamoto]] families supported different claimants to the [[Chrysanthemum Throne]], and in June 1180, the Minamoto brought their claimant, [[Prince Mochihito]], to the Mii-dera, fleeing from Taira [[samurai]]. Mii-dera asked for aid from Enryaku-ji, but was denied. The monks of the Mii-dera joined the Minamoto army, and fled to the [[Byōdō-in]], a [[Fujiwara clan]] villa, which had been converted to a monastery by Mii-dera monks (see [[Battle of Uji (1180)]]).

Angered at the Mii-dera/Minamoto alliance, [[Taira no Kiyomori]] ordered the destruction of Mii-dera, and of many of the temples of Nara (see [[Siege of Nara]]).<ref name=Turnbull2>{{Cite book |last=Turnbull |first=Stephen |title=The Samurai Sourcebook |publisher=Cassell & Co. |year=1998 |isbn=1854095234 |page=200}}</ref> 

The monks of Mii-dera figured once more in the Genpei War, fighting alongside Taira sympathisers against [[Minamoto no Yoshinaka]], who invaded [[Kyoto]] in 1184, [[Siege of Hōjūjidono|setting fire to the Hōjūjidono Palace]] and kidnapping the retired emperor, [[Emperor Go-Shirakawa|Shirakawa&nbsp;II]].

Following the Genpei War, there was a long period of relative peace, as the temples of Kyoto and Nara, including the Mii-dera, were rebuilt. As the temples regained strength, rivalries reappeared, though little to no violence actually erupted between Mii-dera and Enryaku-ji. In 1367, when a novice from Mii-dera was killed at a toll barrier established by the temple of [[Nanzen-ji]], warrior monks from Mii-dera set out to attack Nanzen-ji; when the ''[[shōgun]]''{{'}}s forces were sent to quell the rebellion, they discovered Mii-dera's monks to be supported by ''sōhei'' from Enryaku-ji and Kōfuku-ji as well. A year later, another battle erupted, over comments made by the abbot of Nanzen-ji; the monks of Mii-dera, along with their allies, defeated the shogun's forces once again.

===Sengoku period and beyond===
In the late 16th century, Mii-dera, along with many of the other nearby temples, sought alliances, for military (defensive) strength, as well as military power. The territories of the Asai and Asakura families were closest to [[Mount Hiei]], but these families, as well as others the temples had allied with, were rivals of [[Oda Nobunaga]]. These two families suffered heavy defeats at the hands of [[Oda Nobunaga|Nobunaga]] and his chief general [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], so in 1571 they sought a stronger alliance with the temples. That same year, [[Oda Nobunaga|Nobunaga]] set to destroying everything on [[Mount Hiei]], starting with the town of Sakamoto at the foot of the mountain, and setting his sights on Enryaku-ji at the summit. Much of Mii-dera was destroyed, as the warrior monks failed against [[Oda Nobunaga|Nobunaga's]] large and highly trained samurai army.

Following these attacks, the monks of [[Mount Hiei]] were finally granted a reprieve, and rebuilt their temples once more. Mii-dera has never been attacked or destroyed since then.

==Halls and treasures==
Within the [[Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)|Kondō]] and [[Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)|Hondo]] (the Main Hall and Buddha Hall) of Mii-dera, there are at least six statues of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], sacred personal possessions of various Emperors, including Emperor Tenji, which are hidden away and shown only on rare, special occasions, as well as one large statue of the [[Maitreya|Miroku]], or Maitreya, Buddha in the center of the Hall. The Kondo was built in 1599, and is a replacement for the original, built in 672 and destroyed in 1571.

Mii-dera also has a Kannon-do, built in 1072. 

The evening bell of Mii-dera appears in many tales and legends, including one of the warrior monk Musashibo Benkei and another of a vainglorious woman who dared to touch the forbidden bell.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Legend of Benkei and the Great Bell of Mii-dera {{!}} National Bell Festival |url=https://www.bells.org/blog/legend-benkei-and-great-bell-mii-dera |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=www.bells.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What Happened When a Woman Touched the Bell of Mii-dera? {{!}} National Bell Festival |url=https://www.bells.org/blog/what-happened-when-woman-touched-bell-mii-dera |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=www.bells.org}}</ref> 

==Sub-temples==
===Enman-in===
[[file:宸殿と紅葉.JPG|thumb|right|260px|Enman-in and gardens]]
The {{nihongo|'''Enman-in'''|円満院||}} is a sub-temple ({{nihongo|''tatchū''|塔頭}}) of Mii-dera. It may have been founded in 987 AD by Prince Goen, the son of [[Emperor Murakami]] in Okazaki in Kyoto, where it was called the Byōdō-in, although other records state that it was built with the support of [[Emperor Go-Suzaku]] in 1040 under the name of Enman-in. In 1052, the [[Kanpaku]] [[Fujiwara no Yorimichi]] changed his father's villa in [[Uji, Kyoto|Uji]] into a temple, which became the famous [[Byōdō-in]], and the original Byōdō-in in Okazaki was renamed the "Mii-Byōdō-in" due to its connection with Mii-dera, or the Sakurai-no-miya as recognition that it was a ''[[monzeki]]'' temple with an Imperial prince as head abbot. It was relocated to its present location within the precincts of Miii-dera in the early Edo Period. Its ''[[Shinden-zukuri]]'' style main residence was a gift of [[Empress Meishō]] in 1647. It was originally built in 1619 for use by [[Tokugawa Masako]], the daughter of [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Hidetada]] and wife of [[Emperor Go-Mizunoo]]. The floor plan consists of a total of 6 rooms in 2 rows from north to south, and there is also a throne used by Emperor Mizunoo in one room in the northwest.The [[Kano school]] wall paintings in this structure were designated an [[Important Cultural Property (Japan)|Important Cultural Property]] in 1929; however, the painting in situ are reproductions, with the actual works stored at the [[Kyoto National Museum]] for preservation.<ref name="Bunka1">{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/201/00011023 |title=旧円満院宸殿障壁画|trans-title=Kyū enman-in shinden shōheki-ga|language=Japanese |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |accessdate=August 20, 2020}}</ref>

The {{nihongo|'''Enman-in teien'''|円満院庭園||}} gardens was designated a [[Monuments of Japan|National Place of Scenic Beauty]] in 1934.<ref name="Bunka2">{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/401/1568 |title=円満院庭園|trans-title= Enman-in teien|language=Japanese |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |accessdate=August 20, 2020}}</ref> The layout of the garden is attributed to [[Sōami]], who is also responsible by for the rock garden at [[Ginkaku-ji]] in Kyoto.

Within the grounds of Enman-in is also the {{nihongo|'''Otsu-e Museum'''|大津絵美術館 |Otsu-e bijutsukan}} with a collection of [[Otsu-e]] votive prints which were popular with travelers on the [[Tōkaidō (road)|Tōkaidō]] and [[Nakasendō]] roads in the Edo Period.

===Kōjō-in===
The {{nihongo|'''Kōjō-in'''|光浄院||}} is a sub-temple ({{nihongo|''tatchū''|塔頭}}) of Mii-dera, built by {{nihongo|Yamaoka Kagetomo|山岡景友||}} (1541-1604). The Yamaoka clan was a cadet branch of the [[Rokkaku clan]] native to [[Ōmi Province]], and Yamaoka Kagetomo was one of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]]'s generals. He took the tonsure in 1584, becoming {{nihongo|Yamaoka Dōami|道阿弥||}}. Following Hideyoshi's death, he pledged fealty to [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] and in 1603 became ''[[daimyō]]'' of the 10,000 ''[[koku]]'' Hitachi-Futto Domain in what is now [[Inashiki, Ibaraki]]. In 1601, he sponsored the construction of this chapel within Mii-dera.<ref name="Kojo-in">{{cite web |title=Kojo-in Kyakuden |url=https://miidera1200.jp/kojo-in/ |website=National Treasure Special Admission |publisher=Mii-dera}}</ref>

The Kōjō-in is noteworthy for its {{nihongo|''Kyakuden''|客殿}}, or Guest Hall, which was completed in 1601. This six by seven bay structure with a wood-shingled [[East Asian hip-and-gable roof|''irimoya-zukuri'']] roof has been designated as a [[National Treasure (Japan)|National Treasure]] as a representative example of [[Shoin|''Shoin-zukuri'']] architecture of the late [[Muromachi period]].<ref name="Bunka3">{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/1332 |title=光浄院客殿|trans-title= Kōjō-in Kyakuden|language=Japanese |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |accessdate=August 20, 2020}}</ref> It is decorated inside with paintings by the [[Kano school]], notably ''[[fusuma]]'' paintings by [[Kanō Sanraku]]. These painting were designated an [[Important Cultural Property (Japan)|Important Cultural Property]] in 1976.<ref name="Bunka4">{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/201/2466 |title=光浄院客殿障壁画|trans-title= Kōjō-in Kyakuden shōheki-ga|language=Japanese |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |accessdate=August 20, 2020}}</ref>

The {{nihongo|'''Kōjō-in teien'''|光浄院庭園||}} gardens was designated a [[Monuments of Japan|National Place of Scenic Beauty]] in 1934.<ref name="Bunka5">{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/401/1569 |title=光浄院庭園|trans-title= Kōjō-in teien|language=Japanese |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |accessdate=August 20, 2020}}</ref> The gardens contain a large pond which extends almost to the edge of the verandah of the ''Kyakuden''. The pond contains a central island and a number of monoliths, as a grouping of stones forming a dry waterfall giving a sense of depth. The garden is planted with trees and flowers which reflect the composition of the paintings within the ''Kyakuden''.<ref name="Kojo-in"/>

The Kōjō-in and its gardens are open to the public only by reservation at least a week in advance.<ref name="Kojo-in"/>

===Zenpō-in===
The {{nihongo|'''Zenpō-in'''|善法院||}} was a sub-temple ({{nihongo|''tatchū''|塔頭}}) of Mii-dera, used as a retreat by its highest-ranking prelates. It was located between the Three-story Pagoda and the ''[[Kyōzō]]'' library of Mii-dera, but no structures remain today. The sub-temple was noted for its very large gardens, the {{nihongo|'''Zenpō-in teien'''|善法院庭園||}}, which were commented upon in several Edo Period works on famous gardens in Japan, (including the "Omi Koshiji Sakuden" and "Tsukiyama Niwazoden") and were designated a [[Monuments of Japan|National Place of Scenic Beauty]] in 1934.<ref name="Bunka6">{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/401/1570 |title=善法院園|trans-title= Zenpō-in teien|language=Japanese |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |accessdate=August 20, 2020}}</ref> However, the gardens were destroyed in a landslide following heavy rains in 1941. The original layout diagrams for the gardens were later re-discovered, and [[archaeological excavation]]s found that the edges of the pond and many of the stones of the garden were preserved in good condition. Reconstruction work commenced in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://miidera-museum.jp/cultural-property/contents/8/ |website=Miidera Museum of Cultural Heritage|title=善法院庭園 |publisher=Mii-dera |access-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Buddhist temples]]
*[[List of Historic Sites of Japan (Shiga)]]
*[[List of Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan (Shiga)]]
*[[List of National Treasures of Japan (residences)]]
*[[List of National Treasures of Japan (temples)]]
* [[List of National Treasures of Japan (ancient documents)]]
*[[List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings)]]
*[[List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures)]]
*[[List of National Treasures of Japan (residences)]]
*[[Miidera (play)]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*  Iwao, Seiichi, Teizō Iyanaga, Susumu Ishii, Shōichirō Yoshida, ''et al.'' (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=fW9v37poqcQC  ''Dictionnaire historique du Japon.''] Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. {{ISBN|978-2-7068-1632-1}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/isbn/2706816325  OCLC 51096469]
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1956). [https://books.google.com/books?id=OpOdHQAACAAJ&q=Kyoto:+The+Old+Capital+of+Japan,+794-1869  ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869.''] Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
* [[George Bailey Sansom|Sansom]], George Bailey. (1958). [https://books.google.com/books?id=QjfOHgAACAAJ&q=A+History+of+Japan+to+1334  ''A History of Japan to 1334.''] Stanford: Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-0523-3}}
* [[Stephen Turnbull (historian)|Turnbull]], Stephen and Wayne Reynolds. (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=usxT83j7mt0C  ''Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603.''] Oxford: [[Osprey Publishing]]. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-573-0}}
* ____________. (1998). [https://archive.org/details/samuraisourceboo00turn_0 <!-- quote=The Samurai Sourcebook. -->  ''The Samurai Sourcebook.''] London: Arms & Armour Press. {{ISBN|978-1-85409-371-4}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/60220867  OCLC 60220867]  [reprinted by [[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell]], London, 2000. {{ISBN|978-1-85409-523-7}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/59400034  OCLC 59400034]

==External links==
{{commons|Mii-dera}}
* [https://miidera-museum.jp/en/ Miiidera Museum of Cultural Heritage]
* [http://www.shiga-miidera.or.jp/ Mii-dera official web site {{in lang|ja}}]
* [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=138539&imageID=119527&word=japan&s=1&notword=&d=&c=&f=&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&total=1807&num=84&imgs=12&pNum=&pos=93 New York Public Library Digital Gallery, early photograph view of Lake Biwa from Mii-dera]

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