Buddhist Temple Names in Japan Author(S): Dietrich Seckel Reviewed Work(S): Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol

Buddhist Temple Names in Japan Author(s): Dietrich Seckel Reviewed work(s): Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Winter, 1985), pp. 359-386 Published by: Sophia University Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2384822 . Accessed: 23/11/2012 14:20

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by DIETRICH SECKEL

A LTHOUGH thenames of many Buddhist temples, or jigo , arein con- stantuse among Japanese and Westernstudents of Japan's history, religion,and art, theynever seem to have been made the subject of systematicresearch, not even, as far as I know, by the Japanesethemselves. (There exists,however, a shortand not entirelysatisfactory article on jigo in Mochizuki Shinko, ed., Bukkyo Daijiten, 9, pp. 307f.) Justas Christianchur- ches take theirnames mainlyfrom the multitudeof saintsand otherholy persons (accordingto theirpatrocinium), from the body of theologicalconcepts, such as Trinity,Holy Spirit, Sacred Heart, etc., and, less frequently,from other spheres of religious thoughtand devotional life, so many Buddhist templesare named aftersacred persons in the 'pantheon' (Buddhas, bodhisatt- v.as, etc.) and importantdoctrinal terms. But in addition an astonishing numberof templenames representtitles of scriptures(sutras) and theological or philosophicaltreatises, use symbolsand metaphors,express good wishes and auspicious omens,or are takenfrom ritual and devotionalpractice as well as from legends and local traditions.As even this short and provisional enumerationshows, the varietyof name typesis muchgreater than it is in the Christian tradition; it is furtherenriched by naming a particularlylarge numberof templesafter historical persons who weretheir founders or patrons or to whose memoryand spiritualwelfare the templeswere dedicated. Thus the corpusof templenames (and thereare thousandsof them,showing a bewilderingdiversity) is embeddedin the systemof Buddhistthought, cult, and religiouslife on the one hand and in the fabric of Japanese political, social, and cultural historyon the other. The variety,freedom, and even arbitrarinessin naming the temples are enormous and call for clarification and classification.

THE AUTHOR is Professor Emeritusof East Stuttgart, 1985, which includes a special Asian Art History at the University of chapter devoted to the technical termsused Heidelberg. for the differenttypes of templesand monas- A more comprehensivepresentation of the tic institutions(as opposed to their names materialand discussionof pertinentproblems as such). In the present article only a few is published in the author's Buddhistische isolated exampleshave been selectedfrom the Tempelnamenin Japan (Munchener Ostasi- approximately1,300 temple names analyzed atische Studien 37), Franz Steiner Verlag, in the book.

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This introductoryessay will provide,after some generalremarks, a survey of the main groups of temple names in typologicalorder, illustratingeach of them by some examples selected froma much greaterstock of available ones. Inevitablythe picture presentedin this sketch shows the rich and variegatedmaterial in undue simplification.We have to exclude or to reserve for furtherstudy the specificreasons, occasions, motives,and circumstances that led to the choice of a particulartemple's name, the question of regional distributionof names throughoutJapan, and the possiblepredilection for certain names or typesof names in differentperiods. Also excludedis, of course, any attemptat providingstatistics; quite a numberof names are found only once, othersmore or less frequently,and some in theirdozens or even hun- dreds. The questionof whetheror not and to whatdegree sectarian affiliations of templesmanifest themselves in theirnames is brieflydiscussed. So also is the problemof the importationof templenames fromChina; theirnumber would appear to be much smallerthan one would expect.

Categoriesof TempleNames OfficialNames. What we call templenames (jigo, jimyo #t) is usually only part of the full name of a Buddhistinstitution established both formonastic life and for the performanceof ritual, thus embracingthe meaning of monasteryas well as temple. For conveniencesake, however,'temple' is the preferredterm in Westernlanguages. Normallysuch an institution(ji, tera ) has a long officialname made up of threecomponents: the 'mountainname' (sango rU-"),the 'cloistername' (ingo R- and the 'templename' proper(san- in-jigorR- For example,Chotoku-san Kudoku-in Chion-ji AM, 1R ),k (Mountain of Long-Enduring Virtue, Cloister of Religious Virtue, Temple/Monasteryof Awareness of [the Buddha's] Grace). Another im- pressive example is Shiun-san Shoju-in Raigo-ji (Mountain of Purple [=Auspicious] Clouds, Cloisterof the Sacred Host, Temple of Welcome-the Buddha Amitabha (Amida), according to the Pure Land doctrine,appears witha multitudeof bodhisattvason clouds to receivethe pious believerinto his holyrealm. But logical or self-evidentsemantic connections between the three componentsof a temple'sfull, official name, as in thiscase, are rare,and more oftenthan not theircombination seems arbitraryand difficultto explain. Before concentratingon our main subject, thejigo, a few words about the two othername categories,the sango and the ingo, are in order. Sango. Even whenlocated on level ground,in valleysor in towns,Buddhist temples are called 'mountains' (san, -zan OA)because originallythey were mountainretreats of recluses,hermits, and monks,and because thesolitude of uninhabitedand remotemountains was feltto be a numinoussphere. Certain mountainshave a cosmological significance,and the Buddha is reportedto have preached on sacred peaks, most prominentlythe Lotus Sutra on

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Vulture's Peak (Grdhrakuita).The altar or dais for Buddhistimages repre- sents Mt Meru (Sumeru, J. Shumi-sentj,Li), the centralaxis of the world accordingto Indian cosmology,and is thereforecalled shumi-dan QTffl.The foundingor consecratingpriest of a templeperforms the act of Openingthe Mountain (kaisan MUA) and himselfis called the kaisan. Being basically topographical,the mountainnames are also used as or instead of personal names, especiallyin Zen circles. For example, the monk Wen-yen(J. Bun'en) t)1K,living in themountain retreat or monasteryon Yun- men-shan(J. Unmonsan) fUY1LLJ(Mt Cloud Gate) was popularlycalled Master Ytin-men(J. Unmon); several Japanese templeswere named Unmonji after him or his Chinese monastery.This usage, of course, was taken over from China; forexample, when the eminentmonk philosopherChih-i (J. Chigi) V 0, 538-597,received the honorarytitle of T'ien-t'ai Ta-shih(J. Tendai Daishi) X-lvtft,he was called afterthe sacred peak in Chechiang province,and the name of thismountain was subsequentlytransferred to one of themost influen- tial sects as well. In the presentshort survey we have to omit the mountain names almost completely,for otherwisethe scope of the materialwould be doubled. In many cases, althoughby no means regularly,there exists a semanticre- lationship between the sango and the jigo, and a few examples out of a considerablenumber of typicalconnections are givenbelow. Ruriko-sanYakushiji fU% iS: Ruriko=Radiance of Jewellery(Skt. vaidurya)is an alternativename forYakushi NyoraiViji4p, theHealing Bud- dha. Muryoju-sanSaihoji dEUW15: in the WesternRegion reignsAmida (Skt. Amitayus),the Buddha of ImmeasurableLife. Chfidai-sanDainichiji @ =LLJ7HEY:Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana) occupies the Central (Lotus) Terrace of the GarbhadhatuMandala. Gokoku-sanShitennoji T,LI4I: theFour Lokapalas (Heavenly Kings) are worshipped as Protectors of the State. Hokke-san Ichijoji i'L-#: the One-and-OnlyVehicle (way to salvation) accordingto the Tendai school (to whichthe templebelongs) is expoundedin its fundamentaltext, the Lotus Sutra (Hokke-kyo&#g*). Sometimesthe two elementsare personalnames: in Myoyfi-sanSokyutji 41I1 utS, the sangO gives the posthumous or Buddhist name (hogo '-) of the founder'smother and thejigo that of his father.Fixed rules,however, or at least acceptedhabits of choosingand combiningsango and jigo did not exist. Ingo. Originallythe termin denoted an enclosure,a precinct(of a palace compound, for example) and, by analogy, a cloisterwithin a monastery.In thislatter sense it was applied to temples(as Byodo-in+1R at Uji) or mainly sub-temples(as Daisen-inIt{WSR within the hugecompound of Daitokuji 7 in Kyoto). Alternativebut less frequentterms are -an X and -bo t, while-do V, normallyconfined to singlehalls or chapels, can sometimesdesignate small temples or sub-temples.As usual in East Asia, the name of a house or residencecould be transferredto the person residingthere; the most con-

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 362 Monumenta Nipponica, 40:4 spicuous cases are the names of CloisteredEmperors (-in or joko ? r; insei r fA,the rule of retiredor cloisteredemnperors). Also prominentare thenames of noble courtladies residingin precinctswithin or outsideof the palace; forexample, Higashi-Sanjo-in &?:1, named afterthe motherof EmperorIchijo -X. In the Buddhistsphere, the mostnumerous and popular in-namesof persons are the hogo, religious names adopted eithierduring the lifetimeor grantedposthumously (see p. 383, below). They are oftenidentical with the names of templesfounded by these persons, dedicatedto theirmemory and salvation,or establishedas theirfamilies' sanctuaries, for example, Jisho-in X P, forAshikaga Yoshimasa ,fIJ, founderof Jishoji,and Soken-in/jie %R/, for Oda Nobunaga EmA- and his familyat Azuchi. What concernsus here,however, is the use of in as a componentof temple names. Usually it occupies the second place betweensango and jigo. It can replaceji when a templeprecinct rose to great importanceor became an in- dependentestablishment (for example,Byodo-in), but mostoften it is applied to small sub-temples,or tatchu J;df,attached to a inain temple whose full name normallycontains a differentingo as componentpart. For example, Rinzo-in WAR withinthe compounds of Koryo-san Keiden-in Shitenno-ji 3RtP41- R &A. Examples of the semanticconnection between this latter typeof ingo and thejigo were mentionedabove, as also some instancesof a close connectionamong all these components. Jigo. Both sango and ingo, althoughimportant and meaningfulparts of the full,official temple names, are not, and neverwere, in generaleveryday use, and are evenunknown to mostpeople. Everyonecalls thetemples by theirjigo (or, in special cases, by theiringo- when these took the place of the current name). The jigo may thus be termedtheir principal name. In some cases the characterfor ji l is pronounced tera (in compounds, often -dera), mainly whenthe ternple name properis an indigenousJapanese name, as in Hase-dera }A?S and Tachibana-deraSE, or when an unofficial,popular name (betsugo V'-1y,bessho SI]#, zokusho {4, tsusho At) is used side by side withthe official jig6. Unofficial or Popular Names. These occur most often among the topographicalnames (forexample, Asuka-dera F Asakusa-dera - or in the case of temples named by some conspicuous featuresor famous characteristics;for example, Koke-dera W theMoss Temple,for Saihoji -WYr % in Kyoto,or GinkakujiiVX,Y theTemple of theSilver Pavilion, which hard- ly anyone knows by its officialname of Jishoji- As thesetwo examples show, both -ji and -tera(-dera) may be used in thesepopular names,in accordance witheither the Sino-Japanese (on -) or the Japanese(kun jj1)pronunciation. But templenames incorporating-tera are not invariablypopular ones; Ishiyama-deraTi+,, the Temple of the Rocky Mountain,is an officialname. Not infrequentlyit is the sango thatis used as a popular name, such as Shigi- san OAUfor the complicatedname Chogosonshiji N+ff'. In anothertype

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SECKEL: Buddhist Temple Names in Japan 363 of popular name the templeis simplycalled bv its principalstatue (honzon t 4), as in the case of Asuka-Daibutsu A1k,{fifor Gangoji iW in Yamato or Narita-FudoS;WT- forShinshoji W-, or bythe name of an eminentper- son who founded the temple, resided there, or whlosetomb is located in the precincts.For example,Ikkyutji t-- is named afterthe famousfifteenth- centuryZen masterwho lived and was buried In the templeofficially called Shuion-an1P,6 .

Jigo: Form and Meaning Varietyof Temple Names. The number of temple names is enormous and seems almost chaotic since the chioiceof name was leftto a personor a group of people responsiblefor the foundationor restorationof the temple. This choice oftenappears to be even arbitraryand as a consequence we are con- frontedwith the resultof a remarkableinventiveness. Official authorities were involvedonly in the case of court-or government-sponsoredtemples. The rich varietyof names is due to the fact that Buddhism had no unifiedchurch organizationwith a centralecclesiastical authority or a dogmaticallyfixed doctrine.Even the so-called sects,a convenientbut misleadingterm that perhaps should be replaced by 'denominations' or 'schools', had a relativelyloose organization,each sub-division(ha rp) or even each individualtemple being more or less independentin its management.Whether or not thereexisted, along withthis general freedom and autonomy,some sortof authoritywithin a sect, school, or group of templesissuing regulations or approbationsfor the namingof templesremains to be clarified.There were,however, special cases in which an emperorgranted a templename (choku-go#h -). Since theredid not exista canonical or generallyaccepted body of approved names, anyone being freeto inventnew ones, a particularname may possibly occur only once, whileothers are foundin severaldozens or even hundredsof cases. Some names or typesof names, of course,are extremelypopular, mainly those of the large Jodo or Amida sects or those conlainingthe names of great bodhisattvas such as Kannon or Jizo. But many names are highly esoteric,intelligible only to the initiated. Still others are derived from individual names of livingor deceased persons who are not known beyond a limitedcircle. The varietyof templenames withtheir polychromatic spectrum is furtherin- creased and a comprehensivesurvey made stillmore difficultby the factthat templenames were oftenchanged (kaisho&Vi', kaimy6 o) in the course of theirhistory. A special methodof renamingis the replacementof one or two charactersof a name by otherswith different meaning but identicalpronuncia- tion (homophonicchange), as in Saihoji fli# > - or Daigoji MM-7 > iR Xt, a templein Kyushu.By thismethod a templename mayeasily be adapted to the doctrineof anothersect or to some new purpose or situatioi.

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LinguisticForm of TempleNames a. Binomial Compounds. The normalform of templenames is a binomialcompound plus -ji/-tera(or sometimes-in) in the Sino-Japanese(on) version. Usually these compounds are based on the Chinese Buddhistvocabulary as formulatedin the translationsof the sutrasand othertexts and in thetreatises writtenby the great Chinese mastersand theirJapanese followers.Typical examples are Engakuji F5S,, Myoshinji J Byodoin. Most Buddhist names and termsare coined in keepingwith the South Chinese pronunciation (go-on l showingcertain deviations from the standard kan-on reading (for example,kudoku IJu, insteadof kotoku). It goes withoutsaying that the grammaticaland logical relationshipsbetween the membersof thesebinomial compounds followthe rules(and the ambiguities)of the Chinese language. In quite a few cases the two charactersare more or less interchangeable,so that Saikoji li and Kosaiji i Fukuryuiji 3 and Ryuifukuji , stand side by side, often without any appreciable differencein meaning. Names withonly one characterplus -ji or -teraare rare,most of thembeing Japanese namesof localities,buildings, flowers, and thelike, used as popularnames, such as Oka-dera FAl or Koke-dera,or evenas officialones such as Tachibana-dera. In exceptionalcases one-characternames are used beside the normal,official names, as in Toji # (EasternTemple) forKyoogokokuji RT-gJWS,Y indicat- ing its location in the easternsection of Heian-kyo. Three-memberednames are not quite so rare, occurringmainly in names of a holy being or a doctrinal term consistingof three characters(Amida rjTr, Muryoju 4-, jobodai t haramitsu.9W). b.Transliterationof Sanskrit Terms. Haramitsu, mentionedimmediately above, is theSino-Japanese equivalent of Sanskritparamita, and is an example of the frequentphonetic transliteration, first and basically into Chinese (ir- respectiveof themeaning of the characterused) and thentaken over into Sino- Japanese(on'yaku H 'translationby sound'). Furtherexamples are Monju t9ij for Manjushri, makaya)VnpgN for mahayana,bodai EX for bodhi,and shitchi P for siddhi. Many of these transliterationsare shortenedor even mutilatedby brutalamputation of syllablesto such a degreethat they become unintelligiblewithout recourse to theirSanskrit form (ryaku-on'yaku W , 'abbreviatedphonetic translation'). For example,Bonshaku )t,, forBrahma and Shakra (Indra), derivesfrom Bonten Xy and Taishakuten ,;V mani )#Ptfor cintamani;funda Wr for pundarTka.The same phenomenonis foundin theinnumerable transliterations of foreignwords fromEuropean languages and theirmutilations current in modernJapanese (for example,rangaku M, Dutch or Westernstudies in the Edo period,is the abbreviationfor Oranda-gaku Th( J)MJ ). This method,in generaluse since earlyTokugawa times,was merelyan adaptationof a time- honored Chinese practiceto otherlanguages and for new purposes.

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For the transferof Sanskritwords into Chinese and Sino-Japanesetwo methodswere used side by side: transliterationby sound (phonetically)and translationby meaning (semantically).Thus thereis Amida (from Sanskrit Amitabha/Amitayus)and Muryoko/Muryoju('Immeasurable Light/Life'), or hannya AQt (fromprajna) and chie *ug=wisdom. All this is reflected in Japanesetemple names thatdraw their terminology from the entire,vast re- pertoryof Indian and East Asian Buddhistvocabulary, adding in the process certainnew, indigenousnames and termsmainly from the stock of Japanese personal and topographicalnames or fromthe treasuryof legendand lore. c. Kun-on Change. A specificallyJapanese phenomenon,impossible in other languages, is the replacementof the purely Japanese pronunciation (kun) of Chinese charactersor of indigenouswords and names by theirSino- Japanese reading (on). This exchange occurs mainly among temple names derivedfrom topographical or personalnames (names,that is, of non-Chinese and non-Indianorigin), resulting in seeminglypure Chinese binomialnames. For example, a temple founded by a certainKi no Michinari#d:S; is called Dojoji :J (evoking the Buddhist concept of jodo AA3-i,Perfection of Enlightenment,Accomplishing the Way); a place called Tatsu-no-Kuchi ro (Dragon's Mouth), transposed to its on form, furnishesthe temple name Ryuikoji-4 9ii . It can even happen thatthe two charactersare taken fromthe names of two differentpersons: a templefounded by Fujiwara Michiaki - *;A gqand Tachibana Sumikiyo%& is called Dochoji (michi=do, sumi= cho). Oftenthe meaningof such artificialnames is strangeor even obscure. d. ContractedCompounds. The finallinguistic form often used in naming templesis the contractedform. From a long termor name, consistingof four or morecharacters, usually two are pickedout and combinedto createa handy binomialcompound, after the patternABCD (AB-CD) > AD or BC, etc. For example,the name of Hommanji *i't, enigmaticwhen taken by itself,is a contractionof the termhongan-manzoku *W,fiF, Complete Fulfillmentof (Amida's) OriginalVow, and Shogo-in - is contractedfrom shftai-goji j MA4, Protectionof the (Emperor's) Holy Person. These contractionsoften resultin binomial compounds that are not to be found in any but the most specializedbuddhological or historicaldictionaries, and oftennot even there. It is hopelessto tryto understandsuch names exceptby recourseto theircom- plete, originalforms. But othernames are time-honored,long-established members of traditional Chinese Buddhist vocabulary; for example, hokke (in Hokkeji ) < myohO-renge4gM = saddharma-pundarTka;bosatsu < bodaisat(su)ta:45N P*. Evidentlyalmost unlimitedfreedom, arbitrariness, and even manipulation were allowed in formingtemple names. This is a familiarphenomenon in moderntimes, with names such as Todai forTokyo Daigaku i \#j, Keihin- sen Jil for the Tokyo-Yokohama railway line, and Nissan for Nippon- Sangyo *HZ.Fi

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Anotherform of charactermanipulation is thehomophonic change mentioned above. A thirdone is the additionof characterelements: Chuigenji qIJrf+ is based on theon-pronounced family name Nakahara rV,(_ C huigen),which for certainreasons was complementedby the radicals 4 and f withoutaltering thepronunciation. A fourthone is thebreaking up of a characterinto its parts to forma binomial temple name: Mokuboji IThe, taken fromW umeand referringto Umewaka-maru fLA, whose tragic storyis the subject of the celebratednoh play Sumidagawa.Often such manipulatednames do not make a greatdeal of sense when taken at face value.

Interpretationof TempleNames a. VariousApproaches. When interpretingtemple names, we firsthave to establishits literalmeaning-a task not always so easy as it may firstseem- and to identifyit as the name of a holy being, of a historicalperson, or as a termof doctrineor ritual,etc. (semanticinterpretation). A second approach is to investigatethe particularcircumstances of the temple'sfoundation and the reasonsfor the choice of itsname-who founded,enlarged, or revivedthe temple, what legend,local tradition,or socio-politicalsituation were instrumental in namingit (contextualinterpretation). A third,often indispensable approach is to bringthe temple name into relationwith the principal object of cult(honzon) and the mountainname (sango),both of whichoften, but by no means regularly,offer a clue to the name; or to considerthe temple'saffiliation with and servicefor a certainsect, its doctrine,cult, symbolism,and devotional practice(functional interpretation). In usingthese approaches or perspectiveswe have to definethe context,the conceptualand terminological'field' in whicha certainname or term,as used in a templename, acquires a specificsense or nuance: the lotus in the Amida creedhas a differentmeaning from that in Nichirenteaching, the West means one thingin Amidismand anotherin Zen; forexample, Sairaiji i (Com- ing fromthe West,that is, Amida's comingfrom the Pure Land to receivethe pious believer)as opposed to Sairaiji (Bodhidharma'sComing fromthe West, that is, to China, the inceptionof the Ch'an/Zen tradition). Oftendue regardto chronologicalsequence helps us to avoid the pitfallsof anachronism.Apparent connectionsbetween temple names and certainper- sons may turn out to be impossiblefor chronologicalreasons. Many names cannot appear earlier than a specificdate of political or religioushistory; honoraryecclesiastical names posthumouslygranted to high-rankingpriests by an emperor(such as Enko Daishi q-j-jK forHonen &t) wereoften conferred late in history,in Honen's case in 1697; thus any templecalled Enkoji and founded before that date cannot have been named afterHonen. All these methodsof interpretationare, of course, interrelated,mutually complement- ing each other.

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b. HistoricalStratification. When templenames are seen in due perspective, theyshow a sort of 'historicalrelief' or stratificationin thatthey belong to a differentage and go back to variousphases of religiouslife and thought.Somne belong to the early, initial stage of Japanese Buddhism,others appear suc- cessivelyin the course of later developments;some represent'timeless' concepts,such as enlightenment,and maybe foundat almostany time. Others, on the other hand, are dependenton certainspecific events and cannot appear earlierthan a definitedate, forexample, those of the esotericschools (mikkyi) ?t) and of Amida, Nichiren,and Zen. In each of these phases, gradually superimposedlike layersor strata,we findin templenames the 'conceptual fields'mentioned above. Their originin certaincanonical texts,basic forthe differentschools of thought,requires special attention;quite a numberof termsappearing in names turnout to be titlesof or quotationsfrom sutras or treatisesof perhapswidely divergent ages and religioussystems (see below, pp. 372-73). In our typographicalarrangement of temple names we constantly have to pay attentionto thishistorical stratification in cases wherethese names appear side by side on the common plane of semanticcategories. c. SemanticStratification. Another type of stratificationis found'within' individualtemple names; thatis, theremay existseveral layers of meaningsand semanticaspects or of overlappingcontexts and functions.One and the same name may have to be interpretedin diverseways accordingto its being connectedwith different schools of thought,systems of symbolism,legends about the temple's foundationor the miraculouspower of its honzon, or withthe name (often posthumous) of a historicalperson. Such a temple name may thereforehave to be classifiedin more than one typologicalcategory, but in practiceone of these various aspects, or 'layers', is found to be the primary one, predominantlyresponsible for the temple's name. A templemay be called aftera priest'sname (thisbeing the 'primarylayer', the immediatemotive for choosing this particular name forthe temple), but at the root of the monasticname may lie a doctrinalterm. Alternatively, it may be the mountainname (sango) of the monasterywhere that priest received his ordinationor wherehe resided,thus at the same timebeing a topographical name (often a Chinese one); or a temple may be called afterthe title of a religious treatise that, in turn, may have political overtones. Or the posthumousname (hogo) of a believer,used as a templename, can be a term of devotionallife; or the era name (nengo) givento a templemay originally be based on a good omen or an auspicious legend. The classificationof temple names by systematictypes, therefore, is often far fromeasy because many of themcut throughtwo or more layersof meaning.In an overallsurvey it is obviously impossibleto analyze these stratificationsin each particularcase, but awarenessof this structuralprinciple is oftenindispensable for a correct interpretation,which should neverbe a mono-dimensionalone. d. SectarianAffiliation. As mentionedabove, templenames have oftento be

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 368 MonumentaNipponica, 40:4 interpretedwithin the contextof a certainschool of doctrinalthought and religious practice and withinits semantic field, but it would be wrong to assumethat a clear, strict,or necessaryconnection of name and sectin factex- isted. Often, of course, the link is obvious, mainlyin the case of the Amida sects,for example, Honganji * Raigoji *5i, Gokurakujit , Rensho- ii , etc. But quite as frequentlythe link may be doubtfulor misleading. Many termsused in templenames are generallyvalid beyondsectarian border lines,being based on fundamentaland universalBuddhist concepts or containing names of popular holy beingsand famouspatriarchs. Also, entiresets of termsmay have been inheritedby one sect fromanother; Tendai terms,for instance, many of them taken fromthe Lotus Sutra, were incorporatedinto Nichiren/Hokketeaching. Many templenames have sources otherthan sectarian doctrinal or devotional terminology;for example, legends, political ideas (protectionof the state and emperor),good wishes and omens, place names, names of historicalpersons, etc., so that theirsect affiliationis not clearlyshown in theirnames. And evidentlyin not a fewcases people responsiblefor the templesdid not take offensewhen the name was more or less inappropriateto or even incom- patible withthe creed of theirsect. This happened withparticular frequency whenevera templewas transferredfrom one sectto another(or evento a third sect)without changing its name (kaisho).Or, viceversa, when temples changed theirnames withoutpassing over to other sects. All this may oftenlead us astray,and wheneverpossible we have to go back to the initialsituation in orderto avoid error.(On the changeof templenames-kaisho, kaimyo,see p. 363, above.) e. Translation.Translation of templenames is oftena precarioustask. In manycases, of course,it is unproblematicbecause meaningand contextare obvious or easy to ascertain,for example, when well-knownholy beings,doc- trinalterms, symbols, wishes and omens,or localities,are concerned.But even withinthese categorieswe findmany names and termsthat call for careful inquiry, and in such cases the authoritativeJapanese buddhological en- cyclopediasare most helpful.In additionthe meaningof othernames is ambiguous or may be understooddifferently in differentcontexts. We have to bear in mind thattemple names have oftento be interpretedaccording to the correct'layer', dimension,or fieldof meaning,as explainedabove. It would not make sense, forexample, to translatea certaintemple name literallywhen it turnsout to be thename of an era, or of a figureappearing in a sutra,or of a historicalperson (possiblyin on insteadof kunreading, as noted above). For instance, Jogyoji L4 has to be understood as based on the name of a bodhisattvaVishistacarita (Superior Conduct), mentionedin the Lotus Sutra, of whom Nichiren,1222-1282, expected himself to be a reincarnationin an after-life. Not infrequentlythe grammatical and logical structureof thebinomial com-

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SECKEL: Buddhist Temple Names in Japan 369 pound forminga templename maybe uncertain,allowing divergent interpreta- tions and translations.Particularly thorny problems arise whenevera name belongs to the contractedtype, mentioned above. It oftenhappens that new compoundscombining two characterstaken froma longerterm or phrasedo not forma logical, easilycomprehensible unit, and thereexist quite a number of templenames that seem to be completelymeaningless or lead us astrayif we do not realize theirnature and origin. If, for example,we were to translate Kontaiji iv as 'Temple of the Golden Womb', this obvious nonsense should warn us to look for the correctmeaning: 'Temple of the Diamond World (kongokai ij) and the Womb-Store World (taizokai MK)', representedby the famous pair of mandalas. Many such contractednames, and othersas well, requirean explanationor paraphraseof theiroriginal and unabridgedmeaning, including hidden allusions. It is quite futilefrom the start to attemptto translatethose names and termsthat are nothingbut transliterationsof Sanskrit words by Chinese-Japanese characters used phonetically,regardless of theirmeaning. TypologicalClassification of TempleNames Temple names have been arranged in the followingsequence in order to classifytheir vast numberand bewilderingvariety in a reasonable and com- prehensiblesystem: 1. Names of holy beings (numina) 2. Titles of scriptures(sutras) and treatises 3. Basic conceptsof doctrine 4. Terms of ritualand devotionalpractice 5. Symbolsand metaphors 6. Legends The above groups of specificallyreligious terms are followedby more secular concepts: 7. Wishes forgood fortuneand auspicious omens 8. Motifs of Chinese mythand symbolism 9. Era names (nengo) 10. Wishes forthe welfareof the emperorand nation. While most of the above categoriesare of a general,partly Buddhist (largely originatingin India) and partlysecular character,valid also in China and Korea, the finalgroups below have a specificallyJapanese flavor and a higher degreeof regionalindividuality. 11. Names of historicalpersons, clerical or lay 12. Localities and theirtraditions 13. Conspicuous featuresto whichcertain temples owe theirfame. An appendix, p. 385, below, refersto names importedfrom China.

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In thisbrief survey we can supplyonly a fewtypical examples for each of the above typesof name, havingto pass over in silencemany highly interesting, unusual, sometimesstrange, and even enigmaticnames. For a fullerpresenta- tion thereader is referredto the studymentioned in thenote on p. 359, above. Our main source material is found in compendia containing several thousandsof temples,giving their names, history,buildings, treasures, principal cult objects (honzon), legends, and festivals.The two most useful referenceworks are Nihon Shaji Taikan and Zenkoku JiinMeikan; less com- prehensiveis Koji Meisatsu Jiten(the full titlesof these and otherpertinent worksare suppliedin thebibliography, p. 386, at theend of thepresent article). These compendia have utilized original documents,which thereforedo not have to be consultedfor our limitedpurpose. As regardsthe names that are not self-evidentor explicableby usingthe data assembled in these books, a great number of excellentJapanese reference workson language,history, and religionare also available, some of whichare listed in the bibliography.Especially useful is the small but comprehensive Bukkyo Jitenby Ui Hakuju (its abridgedEnglish edition,Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary, is much less satisfactory).Hobogirin and Soothill1 Hodous, Dictionaryof ChineseBuddhist Terms, stand out amongthe Western buddhologicalreference works. In severalcases morespecialized literature had to be consulted.

1. Names of Holy Beings (Numina) Many templesare called afterthe usual names of the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, etc., not only in a directmanner, but also indirectlyby using special designa- tions oftenveiling their identity. a. Buddha (nyoraiPji*; tathagata). Shakyamuni'sname is seldom used for entiretemples, although often in thecase of chapels, forexample, Shaka-do W AV, and eventhe title 'Buddha' was unpopular.In fact,only two temples named Buddaji or Butsudaji {Lt exist.The titledoes appear, however,in many compositeforms designating his metaphysicalnature and mercifulgrace (see below, 3a). As a morecommon term for the Buddha, nyoraiis preferred;there are severalNyoraiji JIE, togetherwith Rinnoji W--J (Wheel-TurningRuler =cakravartin)or Daiyuiji t (Great Hero). The mostimportant nyorai are found, eitherby director indirectnaming, in the followingtemple names: Shaka-in VAR (short for Shakyamuni),Sesonji t?> (The Honored One in the World), and Zenzeiji AEX (He Who Has Gone the RightWay=sugata). Amidaji 14Jt (short for Amitabha/Amitayus),Muryoji, Mury-okoji, Muryojuji (i,4)# (ImmeasurableLight or Life), Saikoji (Radiance from the West). Yakushiji i1X (Bhaishajyaguru) and Tokoji 1Yi (Radiance fromthe East, where Yakushi's Pure Land is situated) or Joruriji9 (Pure Crystal; ruri is abbreviated from vaidumrya,a mysterioussubstance relatedto the Healing Buddha). Dainichiji -)kH (Vairocana; sometimesin the

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SECKEL: BuddhistTemple Names in Japan 371 transliteratedform of Birushanaji. j1) and Henjo(ko)ji j -' (y) (Shin- ing Throughoutthe Universe). b. Bodhisattva(bosatsu Ef). In addition to the large numberof temples withdirect bodhisattva names, such as Kannonji Z (the most frequentof all, occurring140 times), Jizoji P1L&, Mirokuji - and Monju-in -ZY*r thereare also examplesof indirectnaming. For Kannon (Avalokiteshvara),we find Daijiji )t? (Great Compassion), Senjuji f#X (Thousand-Handed), Fudarakuji VjrLg4 (Mt Potalaka, Kannon's abode on thewest coast of India; transliteratedSanskrit name). Miroku (Maitreya)is referredto in Rytigeji/-in eUX/1Efor the Dragon-FlowerTree will be his tree of enlightenment,cor- respondingto Shakyamuni'spippala tree. Less famous bodhisattvasappear in names such as Jogyoji(see above, p. 368) or Myokenji 4?P%, referringto the star god of the Great Bear (or Nor- thern Dipper), who according to the honji-suijaku tPh2i theoryis the 'trace', or manifestation,of Myoken's 'original' or 'fundamentalentity'; ir both formshe grantsgood fortuneand long life, and protectsthe state. c. Vidyaracja(myoo MTE).The most usual formsfound in templenames are eitherthe generic term, as in Myooji, or the currentnames of individual Wisdom Kings, as in Fudoji/-inib/E or Aizen-in Q . The group of the Great Five appears in Godai-in :Ikj, shortfor godaimyoo. d. Deva (ten uk).Shitennoji VYTFEY(in shortenedform, Tennoji) is called afterthe Four Devarajas governingand protectingthe four quartersof the universe.Of the individualgods we findonly Vaishravana,King of the North and bestowerof riches,in Bishamon-dOPt1UJV (transliteratinghis Sanskrit name), whileTamonji/-in / is a hybridof phoneticrendering (-vana > mon) and semanticinterpretation using the explanatorycharacter t,,for mon; as he is believedto listeneagerly to the Buddha's sermonshe is called 'He who has heardmuch'. His consort,Kichijo-ten (Shrimahadev!), the goddess of happiness, enjoys great popularityreflected in many templescalled Kichijoji or Kisshoji 1 Bonshakuji ? a forced combination of Bonten-Brahmadeva and Taishakuten- Indra(Shakra,transliterated as Shaku)-deva,has been mentioned above, p. 364; only Taishakuji is found independentlyas a templename. This and manyother examples illustrate a generallack of or indifferenceto a systematicand consistentprocedure in creatingand selectingtemple names. From among the more obscure deitiesMyojo may be mentioned(in Myojo-in WMIR).He is the morningstar and a princeresiding therein, at the same time being an incarnation(keshin IL4) of the great bodhisattvaKokuizo fVR (Akashagarbha: Treasury of Empty Space). The popular and ambiguous Dragon Kings, protectorsof the Buddha, his teaching,believers, and sanctuaries,and also bestowersof rain, furnisha whole group of templenames, such as RyuiojieiF, Ryfitenji , and Tenryuji . e. Shinto Deities (kami P$, gongen tV). The syncretistichonji-suijaku

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 372 MonumentaNipponica, 40:4 theorymade possiblethe naming of Buddhisttemples even after Shinto deities. There is a Tenshoji R featuringthe name of Japan's highestnumen, Amaterasu-OmikamiijkV$ in on pronunciation(Tensho Daijin). She was interpretedas a manifestationof Vairocana (Dainichi=Great Sun, or Henjo Illuminatorof the Universe).A popular figureappears in Koshinji I referringto the complicated monkey lore and symbolism. Most Shinto names,-however, are those of rather obscure, local deities; for example, Tateyama-Gongen?ZLUY#, the god of a mountainrange in centralJapan, gave his name in on readingto RyuizanjiALL. f. Disciples and Patriarchs,mainly the Ten Great Disciples (judaideshi t MT) and the 16, 18, or 500 Arhats (rakan 1, are to be distinguishedfrom normal,historical monks and dignitariesowing to theirhalf-historical, half- mythicalcharacter. Some templesare called Rakanji or GohyakuRakanji iii W-,Y but none by the individualname of a singlerakan. From among the ten disciples of the Buddha, thereis only Kashyapa (in Kasho-in ) providedthat this name does not standfor Kashyapa, the im- mediatepredecessor of Shakyamuniin the line of the Buddhas of the Past. In the case of Zen templesthe referenceto Shakyamuni'sgreat disciple, the first to grasp the wordless message of Zen, seems more probable. Bodhidharma (the transliterationis shortenedto Daruma), of course, gave his name to a numberof Zen temples(Darumaji/dera ) From among the famous In- dian philosopherpatriarchs, we findonly Nagarjuna, veneratedas the founder of esoteric (mikkyo) teaching, in translatedform: Ryuijuji E (Dragon Tree).

2. Sutrasand Treatises A small group of names is based on the titlesof famous scriptures,but since manyof themcontain general terms of doctrine,the relation to specifictexts is not always certain;in some cases, however,it seems at least probable. a. Sutras. Doubtless Daizokyoji 1 refersto the Great Sutra Treasury (theBuddhist Canon) and Mitsuz6-inWAR to thatof EsotericTeaching. Since legends tell of the Mahayana Canon being guarded in the Dragon Palace (ryugi ) at the bottomof the ocean, thereis a templenamed Ryuizoji M +, a contractedform of ryuguno kyozo , Sutra Treasuryin the Dragon Palace. Individualsutra titles appear in Dai-Amidaky6ji ,Th# (Temple of the GreatAmida Sutraor Sutras),and in Hokkekyojiand Hokkeji ( (Tem- ple of the Lotus Sutra), showinga contractionof the sutra's fulltitle Myoho- renge-kyoAjffiX#, translatingSaddharma-pundarTka-stitra. Another contractionof the same titleis foundin Myorenji,in accordancewith the pattern AB-CD > eitherBD or AC. ABD are combinedin Myohokkeji.Shomanji J& * refersto the Shoman-gyo(ShrTmala-devT-simhanCida-sutra), a texton whichShotoku Taishi lectured;Shomanji in Osaka was foundedby him.

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b. Treatises.Hekiganji X a Rinzai Zen temple,evidently owes its name to the famous Zen classic Pi-yen-lu,J. Hekigan-roku, , Record of the Emerald Cliff,1125, while Dentoji T# is named afterthe equally famous Dento-roku(if the religiousact as such of Transmittingthe Lamp, thatis, the Zen traditionhanded down through many generationsof patriarchsand monks,is not meant). From its fulltitle, Ching-te Ch'uan-teng-lu, J. Keitoku Dento-roku, M TAy,published in 1004in theChing-te era, thetemple name Keitokuji took the Chinese era name, which has no counterpartamong the Japanesenengo. Ankokuronji n expressly refers to a major treatise writtenby Nichiren, Rissho Ankoku Ron v En=6k, Treatise on EstablishingRigh- teousnessfor the Peace of the Country,while Risshoji utilizesthe first, instead of the second, part of the same title.

3. Doctrinal Terms a. Nature of Buddha and Bodhisattva.The ontologicalterm buddhata, Bud- dha Nature or Essence, is used literallyin Busshoji {L1, whileother temple names expressthis idea in a more abstractmanner (see below, d.), such as BusshinjiiL#, whichat the same timestands for the Buddha's Heart fullof compassion. From the semanticfield of awakening,knowledge, and enlightenment (bodhi) are derived names such as Daikakuji tZ#, Shogakuji i (sambodhi), and Engakuji, meaning Great, Right, or Perfect ('round') Knowledge,respectively. Prajna, the Sanskritterm for insightor wisdom,is phonetically rendered in Hannyaji #tE and semanticallytranslated in Chiekoji , here combinedwith ko, 'luminescence'. From among the ThreeBodies (trikaya)in whichall Buddhas are thoughtto exist, only the two highergrades are found in temple names: dharmakaya (Body Absolute) in Hosshinji ';-#, and sambhogakaya(Body of Compensa- tion or Reward) in Hojinji , thelatter name oftenreferring to Amitabha, the sambhogakaya par excellence.Nirmanakaya (Body of Accommodation, thatis, to the empiricalworld) appears onlyindirectly in namessuch as Shooji 1?c+, Accommodationof the True Essence, tantamountto its manifestation in the historicalBuddha Shakyamuni. Names such as Jionji,x,X or Jigenjii# containa termapplying to both Buddhas and bodhisattvas,Compassionate Grace beingone of theirpredomi- nant virtues.Others use termsspecific to bodhisattvas,such as the Six Perfec- tions (paramita, literally, Reaching the Other Shore, that of nirvana), transliteratedand supplementedwith the number'six' in Roku-haramitsujit, g+. The two highestof 52 stages of the bodhisattva's spiritualcareer, togaku 49 (insight 'equal' to that of the Buddha) and myokaku 04g ('sublime' insight)are coupled in Tomyoji X44E. b. Pure Land Terms,usually referring to Amitabha's Paradise in the West, are popular in templenames such as Jodoji + and Gokurakuji(Pure Land

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 374 Monumenta Nipponica, 40:4 and HighestJoy), but theyalso appear in a moregeneral sense in Butsudoji {l. ?# and Bukkokuji 41HA; sinceany Buddha is supposedto residein a realmof his own, thisgroup of names may be consideredinterdenominational. Ennoji p>+ refersto enno-do ,.X;, therealm where the Perfect ('round') Realityof the dharmakaya'accommodates' (nirmana)itself to the empiricalworld, that is, wherethe absolute Buddha manifestshimself as Shakyamuni.On the other hand, thereis a group of Shingon templescalled Mitsugonji9WC aftermi- tsugon j6do, Pure Land of MysteriousSublimity, that is, the realm of Vairocana, the dharmrakaya. c. The Way towardSalvation, called the RightEightfold Path (hasshddo A iL6) appears in two abbreviatedforms: Hasshoji J@:FV and Shodoji E- afterthe patternABC > AB and BC. Contraryto expectation,not all of the eightindividual terms are used in templenames, an ilitListrationof the fact, mentionedabove, that templenaming was freefrom the fettersof stringent systematization.There do exist,however, Right Concentration in Shojoji iE! Y and RightView (freedomfrom illusion) in Shokenji IKYX. The basis of the Way, dharma,is representedin Shoboji ?- (saddharma) or Buppoji {I2 (buddha-dharma).Shochi-in IE-Y means CorrectKnowledge, Jochiji W-H Pure Knowledge gained by followingthe Way, while Zenchi-in4WR and Kanchi-inAWR denote wisdom obtained by meditation. Enlightenment(bodhi) is representeddirectly, by transliteration,in Bodaiji tMX, Shobodaiji iEtM#(Testimony of Enlightenment),and JobodaijiAI& + (Perfectionof Enlightenment).A Chinese equivalent,wu, J. go, satori, Fh, appears in Goshinji iXA (Awakeningto True Insight).Other translations, such as chi V or kaku A, are oftenfound as componentsof templenames. The finalgoal of nirvana,however, is neverindicated directly by the usual term nehan &- (a transliteration),nor by the alternativetranslation metsu 0 (nirodha: annihilation,suppression), but by paraphrasingit withterms from the semanticfield of quietude and silence, often intensifiedby the idea of stillness,as in Jakujo-in &R, or that of light, as in Jakkoji . An equivalentfor nirvanacurrent in Zen circlesis found in Myoshinji,Sublime Heart of Nirvana (nehan myoshin);this is identicalwith the Buddha Heart (busshin),and is a quotation fromChapter Six of thebasic Zen textWu-rnen- kuan, J. Mumonkan, Smm;this Buddha or Nirvana Heart or Spirit was transmitted'by theheart or spirit'(ishin denshin J21 tL? ). as foundin Denshinji

'To become a Buddha' or 'to completethe Way' is expressedin JobutsujihX IL and Jodoji ; while the centralphilosophical concept of the Middle Path, transcendingall conceivable alternativesand dichotomies,is found in Chfudoji4 . The Great Vehicle(mahayana) is transliteratedin Makayaji 1 the -na beingdropped, and translatedin Daijoji . This vehicle,by preferencein- terpretedin East Asia as a boat or ferry(see below, p. 379), is differentiatedas

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'superior' in Jojoji ?*eY and Saijoji ;K, 'round' or 'perfect' in Enjoji P9 , 'true' in Shinjoji , and 'unique' in Ichijoji - (ekayana). As an essentialmethod leading to salvation,teaching is likewisedescribed as 'round' in Enkyoji F'j, or 'excellent'in Zenkyoji k in a generalsense. Diverse schools of thought,such as Amitabha teaching,may be specifiedas 'western',as in Saikyoji NR7k,Yor 'pure', as in Jokyoji k withreference to the Pure Land of the West. d. MetaphysicalConcepts. Basic Buddhistterms denoting ultimate reality and true essence of all existenceoccur in manytemple names. For example, Busshoji (Buddha Nature, buddhata), Jisshoji%1t?PA and Jissoji%tB, (True Nature of Things, tathata), or Shinnyojift, Shokfiji1 (Voidness of Ultimate Reality), Hokkaiji j (Dharma World, dharmadhatu), and Hosshoji 't~1? (Dharma Essence). Two importantterms, mainly of Tendai thought,are foundin EnnyujiP-1k + and Byodoji/-in / Ennyu means perfect('round') fusion or in- terpenetrationof all severallyexisting phenomena with the underlyingtrue realitytranscending all differentiation;byodo (sameness, samata) likewise stands forthe universallyequal and impartialtruth beyond and embracingall discriminations(shabetsu soku byodo J byodo soku shabetsu). e. Concepts of Individual Schools ('Sects'). Quite a numberof doctrinal termsspecific to certainschools of thoughtoccur in templenames, but we can mentiononly a few examples here. The Amida or Pure Land schools, as we have seen, call theirdoctrine that of the West (as in Saikyoji), the Rinzai Zen school that of the South (in Nanshuiji ) Most prolificwithin this group are the Jodo (Pure Land) and the Hokke/Nichirenschools. As regardsthe formerwe findthe centralterm gan Xo(vow) in manycombinations: Gankyoji 1@ZE Honganji, Ganjoji 1O;,Y Ganshoji RLT#, that is, Doctrine of (Amida's) Vows, FundamentalVows, Vow Fulfillment,Promise of Rebirth. Ojo tT (Rebirthin the Pure Land), found in Ojoji, is cut shortto sho in Saishoji l (Rebirthin the West) or Renshoji M4LY (Rebirthon a Lotus Flower). At firstsight names containingmon r (to hear) in binomial compounds are somewhatenigmatic, for example, Mommyoji l Montokuji 1+,, Monshinji FHt+. These referto the formulaof some of Amida's vows: 'He who hears myname (mommyo)shall receive(toku) faith(shin),' or some otherreligious virtues and blessings.Other names describethe beautyof the Pure Land, such as Rendaiji Z (Lotus Platformor Seat) and Hojuji qIrt1t (JewelledTrees). Names referringto Amida's Coming fromthe West (Sairaiji) and his Coming to Welcome the Believer(Raigoji) enjoy greatpopularity. The Hokke School terminology,largely based on Tendai philosophy, centerson two basic concepts: one is hon, for example in Hommonji cTh (Main or True Gate), that is, to Real, OriginalInsight (Hongakuji &A), to be distinguishedfrom provisional truth(shakumon amr),analogous to the medievalhonji-suijaku theory of 'origin' and 'trace'. A parallelpair of terms

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 376 Monumenta Nipponica, 40:4 is ken and jitsu foundin Kenjitsuji0%Y: once provisional('open, manifest') truthis grasped, real or genuinetruth shines forthas well since both are in- terdependent. The second basic Hokke term,myo 41P(sublime, beyond normal comprehen- sion) owes its popularityto the titleof the Lotus Sutra: Myoho Renge Kyo (Saddharma-pundarTkaSutra), the bible of all Hokke devotees,and it appears not only in Myohoji 4?j, but also in various shades of meaning,as in Myohonji 4t, Myokenji , and Homyoji j24M. SpecificZen names are not so numerous.The famousgreat temples such as Daitokuji, Eiheiji 7 Engakuji, Kenchoji SAN, and Nanzenji X#, bear names eitherof general,unspecific significance or of a differentnon-Buddhist semanticcategory (Kencho, forexample, is a nengo). Some names, however, could not have been used by other sects. Sairaiji (Bodhidharma's Coming fromthe West) refersto thebeginning of thepatriarchal tradition. Myoshoji 41P ,# (Wondrous Smile) evokes the initialmoment of Zen when Shakyamuni silentlyheld up a flower,and Kashyapa was the onlydisciple to indicatehis in- expressibleunderstanding and insight(satori) by a meresmile (nenge misho t! &t); thereupon the Buddha spoke of the Nirvana Heart (see above: Myoshinji).Jikishi-an ft (DirectPointing to theTrue Self) and Kenshoji Q I?E~ (therebySeeing the Nature or Essence) are quotationsfrom a basic dictum epitomizingZen thoughtand experience.

4. Termsof Ritual and Devotional Practice a. Ritual. In addition to certainnames containingwidely accepted symbols, mentionedbelow, such as kongo IJ, thereexists a typebased on termscon- nectedwith ritual performances: the True Word (mantra)in Shingonji , or thesacred formula(dharanT) in Sojiji , Jinjuji , and Jimyoji4, 1 +, thelast name at thesame timedenoting one of theareas withinthe Taizokai Mandara (GarbhadhatuMandala). An unusual case is Akaiji(-dera) WTbwW, 'Fountain of Holy Water' (aka transliteratingargha). Most names of thistype occur withthe esoteric(mikkyo) sects. b. MonasticLife and ReligiousTraining. Terms designating monastic institutions are found, for example, in Angoji J for in early Buddhism the itinerantmonks were allowed to seek 'quiet shelter' only duringthe rainy season (one of the origins of the Indian monastery).Another example is Toshodaiji , the famous templein Nara foundedby the T'ang monk Chien-chen,J. Ganjin, P , in 759: To (= T'ang) is attachedto shodai (ch 'ao-ti) which, by way of transliterationand contraction,goes back to Sanskrit caturdesha(-bhikshu sangha)- '(congregationof monks from)the four cardinal points of the compass'. Strictlyspeaking, this is not a temple name but a technicalterm for a monastery,with -ji used pleonastically.Also in Kokubunji WXh$,designating the type of provincialgovernment temples of the eighthcentury, and in Jingfiji , templesattached to Shinto shrines

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SECKEL: Buddhist Temple Names in Japan 377 accordingto the syncretistichonji-suijaku doctrine. Both of these examples, however,also occur as templenames proper. Religioustraining in a generalsense is spokenof in namessuch as Dairenji i? R (GreatDiscipline) or Kanjuji N Y (Encouragementof Training).The fun- damental exercise of meditationappears in several variants: Zenjoji W joins two terms for meditation, dhyana and samadhi (this latter term, transliteratedas sammai, is oftenused in namessuch as Kongo-Sammai-in I ,7t4); Shojoji IES emphasizes Right Meditationas the last stage of the EightfoldPath; and Kannenji , Kandoji gN, and ShOkanjiIEWY take the termkan (intuition,contemplation) from the same semanticfield. c. Devotion. We can presentonly a small selectionfrom the multitudeof names relatingto the religiousattitudes and activitiesof the devotee. The Awakeningof the Heart, the resolve to follow the Way of the Buddha, is found in Hosshinji , the Awarenessof and Gratitudefor his Grace in Chionji/-in W8W/1R. The semanticfield of religiousacts, centeredon theterm gyo j, is covered by such names as Kudokuji jt (MeritoriousActs), ShogyOjiIE4ThY (Right Actions), Gyoganji f1@ (shortfor shingyo shingan 4 ffiL'@: acts of the body and vows of the heart).Fuku m is anotherkey word in this connection. It does not simplymean 'good fortune'but rather'bliss'; paired with knowledge in Fukuchi-in Vt1E and with virtue or merit in Fukutokuji ' S, it acquires a deeper religiousdimension. Since virtueand good deeds are likenedto a fieldwhere the 'fruit'of enlightenmentand bud- dhahood is growingand ripening,we findeven the name FukudenjirgFHEl. The idea of the transferor 'turningover' of religiousmerit to others for their spiritualwelfare appears in Eko-in Hi1Ri. Invocation and contemplationof the Buddha's, primarilyAmida's, holy name being the most widelypracticed devotional act, the two relevantterms, sho and nen, forma broad semanticfield in whichare found names such as Shomyoji t (Calling the Name), Shonenji (Invocation and Considera- tion), Nembutsuji ,ILX (Contemplatingthe Buddha), and Sainenji i (Contemplatingthe West, whereAmida's paradise is located). As these acts are all-importantand specificfor Amida devotees,they are called 'special' or 'unique': Senshuiji : (Sole or Special Practice),Sennenji 3 (Exclusive Contemplation),and Senshoji 3 (Exclusive Invocation). The conceptof vows forthe benefitand release of all otherbeings, as pro- claimed by Amida in his forty-eightvows, plays an importantrole in temple names such as Hotsuganji 1 (Resolve to Take a Vow), Gangyoji(Realize a Vow), and Manganji 1f+ (Fulfilla Vow). d. Traditionand Propagation. Traditionis usuallyexpressed by den X, as in Demboji j (Transmissionof the Law; also in the reverseform of Hoden- ji), Denjoji (Traditionof the Vehicle,yana), and Shodenji 'i (RightTradi- tion). Which particularteaching is consideredto be the true one depends on the sectto whicha certaintemple belongs. Propagationof the Law is a highly

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 378 Monumenta Nipponica, 40:4 meritoriousact and hence found in many names--HOryuijii1@ (Prosperity of the Law) and Koryuiji Z4 (Propagation and Prosperity)being the most famous examples.

5. Symbolsand Metaphors Common Buddhistsymbols and metaphorsare foundin templenames such as Sambo-in 1 (Three Jewels,triratna) and Horinji (Wheel of theLaw, dhar- macakra). Some of these designatethe Buddha by his distinguishingmarks (lakshana,so t), appearingin Byakugoji b (WhiteCurl, theUrna between the eyebrows),Shorenji H (Blue Lotus, the Buddha's eyesbeing said to be deep blue), and Choonji 4 (Thunderof theRising Tide, a similefor his all- pervading,world-awakening voice, otherwisecompared with the lion's roar). Phenomena connectedwith light are widelyused to expressenlightenment and theradiance of wisdomand grace,the keywords ko X~,myo MJ,and sho P appearing in many names, such as Bukkoji {LX9 (Buddha's Radiance), KOmyojit (Light and Effulgence),Hokoji tW (Emissionof Radiance), and Jishoji(Luminescence of Benevolence).A cognatesymbol is gold, which not only because of its lustertranscending all the differentcolors but also primarilybecause of its immutabilitystands for the glory,permanence, and perfectionof Absolute Realityand Truthpersonified in the Buddha's golden body and halo. Konshinji , (Golden Heart) symbolizesthe absolute essenceunderlying all existence,while Konkoji i (Golden Radiance) and Konzoji R (Golden Treasury)refer to the Buddha nature(buddhata) in- herentin all livingthings. The circle(en Fl) is likewisea symbolof absolute perfection,being fulland completebut at the same timeinfinite and empty.In its pure formit is seen in the full moon (GetsurinjiJql Mangetsuji ahflU) and in a round mirror (Enkyoji FlXR), which, while absorbing and reflectingall evanescent phenomena,still remains bright and empty.A similarmetaphorical term for perfect,'round' insightis found in Engakuji. The lotus flower,symbolizing both the essentialpurity of the absoluteBud- dha Natureand thecosmic universality of theempirical and thespiritual world (as representedin the Mandala) is found in a greatnumber of templenames, manyof themreferring specifically to the Lotus Sutra. Funda-in4rLR shows the abbreviatedSanskrit word pundarTka for the whitelotus; Hachiyoji v (Eight-petalled)means the lotus floweroccupying the centralfield of the Gar- bhadhatu Mandala; and the idea of rebirthin a lotus flower,as promisedto Amida's devotees,appears in numerousnames such as Jorenji + (Lotus Vehicle), Sairenji PMX (Lotus in the West), and Jorenji X (Pure Lotus, alludingto jodo, the Pure Land). Symbolsof theefficacy of 'magic' are foundmainly in esotericthought, such as the 'diamond' or 'thunderbolt' (kongo) for the all-powerfultruth (in Kongoji and Kongobuji !NIUJo). Kongoji and Taizoji H1Xja~show the names

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SECKEL: Buddhist Temple Names in Japan 379 of the fundamentalpair of mandalas. The 'germ syllables' (bMja,shuji N-), such as kan and man (=Ham and Mam), stand forFudo-myoo TAMb, and appear in Kanmanji h or A and Un (=Om), the Buddhist alpha and omega, in Aunjii A large group of names are based on metaphoricalcomparisons. Hounji jX e means the Dharma as a fertilizingCloud and at the same timethe tenth and higheststage of a bodhisattva'scareer. SimilarlyJiunji f the Cloud of (theBuddha's) Compassion. A whole semanticfield, centered on theidea of 'ferryingover to the othershore', to release in nirvana,is coveredby names such as Kaiganji J (Seashore), Saiganji g9 (WesternShore=Amida's Paradise), and Fusaiji si%: (UniversalRedemption, sai=saido AFr,to ferry across). Daigoji takesup the ancientIndian simileof manda, an extremelyrefined ex- tractof milk (translatedinto Chinese by t'i-hu, J. daigo, No), standingfor highesttruth, absolute reality,and the Buddha Nature.The Zen templeSaiho- ji 2XX in Kyoto, originallycalled Saihoji 9yJX (WesternDirection, Amida's Paradise) was renamed by slightly altering the character ho to mean 'fragrance'instead of 'west', therebyquoting froma poem by the temple's reviver, Muso Soseki , which likens the Zen tradition since Shakyamuni and Bodhidharma to a fragrancespreading over wide areas. Anothermetaphorical quotation is foundin Kozanji , (High Mountain). In the Kegon-kyo#09 (Avatamsaka-sutra)the firstsermon of the Buddha, explainingto an audience of bodhisattvasthe whole undilutedtruth experienc- ed under the Bodhi tree, is compared to 'the firstrays of the risingsun il- luminatingthe high mountains' u , this being the complete, official,imperially granted name of the temple.

6. Legends a. The life and legendsof Shakyamunihave furnishedseveral temple names. For example, Dojuji XE# (Tree of [Attaining]the Way, the Bodhi Tree), Temborinji k (Turningthe Dharma Wheel), KakurinjiM.hZ8 (Grove of [Shala Trees turningwhite like the plumage of] Cranes, when Shakyamuni was about to enter into nirvana under these trees). The Bodhi Tree of Maitreya,the Buddha of the futureworld, appears in RyufgejiE (Dragon Flower). b. There is a host of templenames in Japan based on specificlocal legends, most of which serve to illustratethe all-pervadingprinciple of 'origination fromconditional causation' (pratTtyasamutpada, J. engi OLE). This typemay thereforebe called theengi name. Usuallythe legends relate some supernatural occurrencemanifesting the power of Buddhistholy beingsand theiravataras (gongen,reigen . in the guise of Shintodeities or theirmessengers. For example, a statue of the Buddha revealsitself from the sea (Butsugenji{L). Amida and Kannon help Princess Chufjohimeto weave the Taima Mandala

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.63 on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:20:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 380 MonumentaNipponica, 40:4 fromfibers of the Blue Lotus (Shorenji). A deaf-muteboy is healed when,on meetingShotoku Taishi, he produces a holy relic(shari iJ) fromhis mouth (Shariji). A monk succeeds,by his spiritualpower, in exorcizinga malevolent dragon,sealing him up in a pond undera stonecover (Rytugaiji ) Often wonder-workingfountains, waterfalls, rocks, or images,as well as dreamsand apparitions,cases of miraculoushealing and auspicious omens, are involved. It is obviouslyimpossible to relatehere even a fractionof these stories.

7. Good Wishesand Omens Most templenames of thistype do not expressgenuinely Buddhist sentiments but secular ones, as for longevity,plentiful and happy life, easy childbirth, peace and prosperity,thus contradicting,in fact,the Buddhistconviction of fundamentalimpermanence, suffering, and miseryof all existence.Many of thesewishes are expressedby time-honoredstandard formulae or symbolsof Chinese origin.General termsof well-beingand happinessare found,for example, in Eifukuji Ajt (PermanentBliss), Fukushoji VgX (Happiness and Joy), Shofukuji b (Supreme Happiness), and Mampukuji Jt3 (Ten- thousandfoldBliss). Specificwishes for a long life occur in Fukujuji g (Happy Long Life), Senshtujiftk (Thousand Autumns=Years), Mannenji H+ (Ten Thousand Years), and Shojuji VLX (Long Life likethe Pine Tree). Several names, however,express pious wishesfor the bliss of salvationand release in nirvanaor in Amida's Pure Land, such as Fukurakuji VjX and Jofukujii (alludingto the gokuraku-joidoW9+), and Saifukuji 2VX (Bliss in the WesternRealm). Easy childbirthis asked forby usingnames such as Taisanji *X; such templesoften have Koyasu-Kannonf as their honzon. Auspicious omens are usually of general significance,but now and then, dependingon the particularcircumstances, they relate to specificallyBuddhist concepts.The keyterm occurring is oftenzui a (auspicious), as in Zuitokujim tX, Zuikeiji , Zuihoji 4l,, Zuiryuiji E the last two names men- tioningthe phoenixand dragon,symbolic animals of Chinese lore. Zuiunji u @ and Shiunji 2 referto the appearance of auspicious, 'purple' clouds, and Zuisenji 3 to a miraculousspring (a commonmotif). A trulyBuddhist termis foundin Zuioji t (Auspicious Response), meaningthe appearance and beneficial activityof the Buddha 'answering' the urgent prayers of mankind(-'in rs4: body of accommodation).

8. Motifsof ChineseFolklore and Symbolism Names of stronglyChinese (or, strictlyspeaking, Taoist) flavorsupplementing thosealready mentioned above and withoutspecific Buddhist connotations (or acquiring them only secondarily)are found in Gekkeiji Jqjjl (the Katsura Tree supposed to grow on the moon), ShoryutjiH (Blue/GreenDragon of the East), Reishiji tEX (Miraculous Mushroom,or ling-chih,growing in an

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ideal ruler's time and grantinglong life), Horai-in +K (one of the three islands of immortality),and Togenji tfAffl(Peach-Blossom Spring, made famous in Tao Yuan-ming's 14X prose-poem T'ao-hua-yuan chi VEEl, about a dream land full of peace and harmony).A Buddhistversion of the termho-kuang, J. wakoi,fiit (Mitigatingthe Radiance) comes fromTao-te- chingAV,4 chapters4 & 56, and is found in Wakoji intiyU;here it refersto thehoben y'!fR(upaya-kaushalya) of theBuddhas and bodhisattvas,that is, the accommodationof theiroverwhelming splendor to the limitedcapacity of living beings,in accordance withthe honji-suijakudoctrine.

9. Era Names (nengo) Relativelyfew temples bear names of the eras in whichthey were founded, re- established,or enlarged.A templewith an apparentnengo name, however,is not necessarilyconnected with that era; it may have been establishedmuch earlieror later,and thusthe meaningand originof its name have to be sought elsewhere.Since nengo normallyexpress auspicious omens and wishes for good fortuneand prosperity,these formulaemay equally well be used as unspecifictemple names. Examples of genuinenengo names are Koninji KLf7, foundedbetween 810 and 824; Enryakuji , 782-806;Ninnaji Cfiwi, 885- 889; Kenchoji, 1249-1256;Kan'eiji c 1624-1644. Jingoji" however,is not named afterthe Tempyo-JingoiX-M era, 765-767,but receivedits name witha 'political' meaning(see below) not earlier than 824. In rare cases Chinese era names wereused fortemples with a strong Chinese affiliation.This is probablytrue of Eiheiji, yung-ping,J. eihei, being the era, 59-76, when Buddhism is said to have been introducedinto China under the Later Han emperorMing-ti M.

10. Political Names This label is used fora typeof names expressingthe hope forpeace, prosperity,and protectionof emperor,state, and nation,for it was theexplicit duty of such templesto securethese benefits by ritualor magicalperformances. Many of these names have a strongChinese flavor,while a few othersrefer to the benevolentpowers of Shinto deities.Thus, Jingoji,whose fullname is Jingo Kokuso Shingonji - (Shingon Temple Protected[or, forthe Pro- tection]by the kami for the Happiness of the Country)clearly expresses its religio-politicalmeaning. Constantly recurring key terms are an X, hei 4V,and go X, often combined with koku (kuni) M. Self-explanatory names of this typeare Daianji 7k@ and Taiheiji , both meaningGreat Peace (the lat- teralludes to the Chinese nengo-namedtemple T'ai-ping Hsing-kuo-ssutT&XF 1X1) Ankokuji2 (Peace forthe Country), and Chinkokujim_1 (Pacifica- tion of the Country-the name has its equivalent in China, but in Japan the termchin [=shizumeru] has also a Shinto ring). Shogoin is a contraction of shotai goji f;:4, Protectionof the (Emperor's) Sacred Person.

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11. Names of HistoricalPersons UnlikeChristian churches, a surprisingnumber of templesare namedafter living or deceased persons who in one way or otherwere connectedwith their establishmentas foundersor patrons.Some of theseinstitutions were founded to serveas familytemples (ujidera PX, bodaiji or bodaisho f koge-inAt R-), devoted to the spiritualbenefit of its membersand theirancestors after their'release', hence called 'templesof enlightenment'or 'for offeringincense and flowers'.Persons featuredin templenames can be laymenor laywomen, oftenhaving taken holy orders,or clerics;they can be emperors,reigning or retired,other members of the imperialfamily or aristocrats;in more recent times,middle-class people are includedas well. Thus we finda greatvariety of individual names, increased by the frequentuse of religiousnames (hogo, homyo Mo, kaimyo) ) eitheradopted by the living person or granted posthumously.The rulesgoverning this practice are too complexto be discuss- ed here. A furthercomplication arises in cases, mentionedabove, p. 365, and often occurring,of personal names transposed from the Japanese (kun) to the Sino-Japanese(on) readingor pronunciation,or of charactermanipulation. From this bewilderinglyrich repertoire,we selecta fewexamples at random, reluctantly omitting often fascinating personal aspects and historical circumstances. Shotokuji X is a Shinshuitemple called afterShotoku Taishi KtJ" because he was held in greatesteem by that sect; Taishi-dera & was also named afterhim. Domyoji A)iX comes fromone of the names of Sugawara Michizane*;qO,, 845-903.Saiokuji m is derivedfrom the poetic name of the monk Socho , 1448-1532.Gioji I ?X is named afterthe mistressof Taira Kiyomori-Af, 1118-1181.Another instance of a templenamed aftera lady is Gekkeiji, founded in the early seventeenthcentury by a certain nobleman's daughtercalled Gekkei-inJq lR; at the same timethe name refers to the cassia tree(katsura t) on the moon (see p. 380, above), illustratingthe semanticstratification of templenames mentionedabove, p. 367. Names of Chinese monks were sometimesused. Buttsfiji{Ifi is derived fromthe honorarytitle of the Chinese masterof the temple'sfounder, Guchul Shuikyuif'@1R, fourteenthcentury. Obai-in *N1R receivedits name fromthe 'mountain', thatis, the monasteryHuang-mei-shan XLU, Yellow Plum Tree Mountain, wherethe fifth-centurypatriarch Hung-jen LU secretlyappointed Hui-nenggB the sixthpatriarch by givinghim his robe; the mountainname (sangCo)of one of the Obai-in is Den(n)e-san fPO, Transferof the Garment. Ummonji @PM is named afterthe Ch'an masterYun-men J.=, 780-841,while 613-681. Zendoji #i4+ honors the Chinese Jodo patriarchShan-tao _4, Japanese monks, of course, gave theirnames to manytemples which they eitherfounded or to which they were somehow related. KObOji Is and

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Honenji , are called afterthe famous Shingonand Jodo patriarchs.Ren- shoji derivesfrom Kumagai Naozane's Pli: monasticname adopted after the tragic episode with Taira Atsumori -Vk in 1184. Engakuji , a Shingontemple in Aomori,refers to itsfounder, a monknamed Engaku. These examples show that personal names, mainlymonastic ones, can at the same timehave a doctrinalor devotionalmeaning. Famous monksare oftenhidden behind their alternativenames; for example, Koshoji tW?J refersto Kuya Shonin ThL, 903-972, an earlypropagator of the Amida creed. The last importanttype includes the religiousnames (hogo) of lay people. This termis to be preferredto 'posthumousnames' because thesereligious or monasticnames wereoften adopted whenpeople took holyorders during their lifetime.These names are used in connectionwith the meifuku SMor tsuizen A1 rites performedfor the spiritualbenefit of the deceased in the temple devotedto theirmemory and used as theirfamily's ancestral temple (bodaiji, etc). Theyare also inscribedon thetombstone and theancestor tablet placed in the butsudan f1ff.Since theyare suffixedwith -in, theyare called ingo. For example, Jishoji (alias Ginkakuji) derivesfrom Jisho-in, the ingo of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, 1435-1490,the temple'sfounder. Zentsulji tjE comes fromthe religiousname of Kukai's father.Yogen-in AMR refersto the father of Yodogimi MB, the wifeof ToyotomiHideyoshi : and Zenshoji AiE y is the hogo of Hideyoshi's adopted son, HidetsuguA&. Dentsu-inf,jARj is named afterTokugawa Ieyasu's t'JIIS mother.Myorenji 4jE is based on the hogo of Nichiren'smother, while the temple's sango, Myonichi-sanX HLU, refersto thatof his father.Annyo-in tAR was the religiousname of Masako -f#,1157-1225, the widow of Minamoto Yoritomo MdM. Ungenjiai!, is an interestingcase of a templename composed by takingone charactereach from the religousnames of two different,although related, persons-the founder's two sisters,one called Houn-in R-, the otherGenshin-in iJLAE; at the same time,ungen (Cloud Phantom,gen=Sk. ma-ya-,illusion, irreality) makes good sense for Buddhistbelievers.

12. TopographicalNames Before giving examples of temple names referringto specificlocations in Japan, let us mentionsome institutionscalled by one of the cardinal direc- tions. The reason forchoosing such namesvaries. We leave aside namesbased on mythologicaltopography, as the WesternPure Land or the VulturePeak (Grdhrakuita)where Shakyamuni preached the Lotus Sutra (in names such as Ryosenji tI). Such names come primarilyunder the categories of doctrines, legends,etc. In the geographicalsense, however,the easterndirection appears in Toji (unofficialname of Kyoogokokuji,located in the easternhalf of Heian-kyo); similarly,Todaiji 1J and Saidaiji A in the easternand westernparts of Nara, or Higashi- and Nishi-Honganji / in Kyoto.

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Saikokuji gH1jE does not referto the Pure Land in the West but to Western Japan, wherethis temple enjoyed a privilegedposition. Nanzenji, situatedin the east and not in the southof Kyoto, is called the SouthernZen Templewith regard to the division of Chinese Ch'an into 'northern' and 'southern' schools. related, for reasons of religioushistory, to Korea or to Some names are ' China. For example,Kudara-dera Tih;# and Koraiji # (Kudara-Paekche; Korai, in this particularcase, =Koguryo); Tendaiji ## and Rozanji JL (T'ien-t'ai-shanand Lu-shan). True topographicalnames based on Japaneselocalities, often showing -tera (-dera) insteadof -ji in concordancewith the purely Japanese local names,can be those of towns, villages, and rural areas: Asuka-dera, Asakusa-dera, Hagiwara-dera , Ikaruga-dera ]I)tjE (the old name of Horyuiji,after the name of the surroundingtract of land, in on reading,Hankyuji), Hase-dera (also Chokokuji, Long Valley). Often such Japanese topographicalnames, when used in theiron reading,acquire a Chinese, offical,and 'learned' air, such as Meisekiji Mj=Akashi. Other topographical names may be those of mountains, as Kiyosumi- dera/Seichoji '1i4# (located on Mt Kiyosumi, BosO Peninsula), Koyaji/ Koyasan ,f,/U (High Plain), Kongobuji (on Koyasan; Vajra Summit,a mountain name based on a legend connected with Kukai). Some of these names are determinedby certaincharacteristics of the local situationand thus lead us to the last typeof templenames.

13. Conspicuous Features Withinthis categoryare found many popular, unofficialnames currentalike among Buddhistadherents and non-Buddhistvisitors; often, in fact,a temple is far betterknown by its popular name than by its officialone. Few people have everheard of Jishojiand Rokuonji tjE, but everyoneis familiarwith Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji F# (Temple of the Silver/Gold Pavilion) in Kyoto. Often,however, a name of thistype is used as the officialname. Apart fromconspicuous buildingssuch as these, characteristicfeatures of the sur- rounding landscape-hills, rocks, grottos, waterfalls-can furnishtemple names: Rinkyujit4, Ishiyama-dera,Sekiganji , and RyoanjiiS;. In addition the Japanese are fond of calling temples afterbeautiful trees, flowers,and even moss: Tachibana-dera (tangerinetree), Tsubaki-dera w (camellia), Hasu-dera 47jE (lotus), Koyoji qi,,# (=momiji t[, autumnalcol- ors), and Koke-dera (moss; identicalwith Saihoji in Kyoto). A few temples take theirnames fromfamous statues,such as Shakuzoji 6f*# (a wonder- workingstone statueof Jizo) and Sentaiji VA (Thousand Buddha Statues).

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Appendix

TempleNames Transferredfrom China Quite a numberof templenames are evidentlyadopted fromChina, but they are not so numerousas one would expectin view of the intimateconnections betweenJapanese and Chinese Buddhismthroughout the centuries.In many cases names are so specificallyconnected with indigenous Japanese places, persons, events, legends, etc., that they obviously cannot have counterparts in China. In most cases the identityof names in both countriesis due to simpleconvergence since a greatnumber of names and termsare commonto all Buddhist schools of thought,cult, symbolism,and devotional practice. Even non-Buddhistconcepts of Chinese originhave spread throughoutEast Asia (see sections7 & 8, above). Unlike these cases, however,there exists a smallishgroup of templenames whose origincan definitelybe attributedto Chinese monasteriesprovided that at least one of the followingconditions is met. a. A linkin sectarianhistory (for example, Tendaiji /T'ien-t'ai-shan;Shorin- ii ?J/4/Shao-lin-ssu,the monastery on Sung-shanwhere Bodhidharma is said to have sat facinga wall in meditationfor nine years). b. Japanesemonks had personal connectionswith specific Chinese institutions (Shoryuiji/Hsing-lung-ssuH in Ch'ang-an, where Kutkaistudied under Hui-kuo; Ryuikoji , a Tendai templefounded by Ennin Flzi and named aftera Chinese state-protectingtemple called Lung-hsing-ssu,where Saicho R& (Dengyo Daishi {F?tI) had been initiatedto esotericteaching). c. The names of Chinese masters or those of their 'mountains' (= monasteries),mostly of the Ch'an/Zen sects, were used to name Japanese temples(as Sokeiji , withreference to Ts'ao ravine; Hui-neng,the sixth patriarch,lived in the Ts'ao ravine, which became proverbialamong Zen adherentsas a source of theirtradition). d. In one or two cases a Chinese mastertransferred the name of his home templeto the one he foundedin Japan; forexample, Mampukuji, near Kyoto, was named in 1661 afterWan-fu-ssu f3+ on Huang-po-shan,J. Obaku-san, IALU, by Yin-yuan,J. Ingen, 7G. We have to confineourselves to these few hints; the problemsconnected withthis phenomenonare numerousand call for furtherinvestigation.

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