Honpō-ji｜本法寺

The tradition of painting scenes from the life of Shakyamuni is intrinsic to Buddhism, and one of the staples is the nehan-zu, depicting the physical death of the Buddha which signals his entry to Enlightenment.  Though each painter takes certain liberties, the general scene involves the Buddha at the center, laid out on a dais in a copse of śāl trees surrounded by mourners human, divine, and even animal.  This subject has been covered in many dimensions, but the painting at Honpō-ji is one of the three largest in Kyoto at 10 meters tall and 6 meters wide. 

The artist and founder of the Hasegawa school of painting, Hasegawa Tōhaku (1539 – 1610), was a devout follower of the Nichiren sect, a danka (parishioner) of Honpō-ji, and a close friend of the temple’s head priest at the time.  After tragically losing his son Kyūzō at the young age of 26, the artist focused his efforts on creating this Nehan-zu, a process that is said to have taken three whole years.  Dedicated on April 26^th, 1599, when Hasegawa Tōhaku was 61, the back of the scroll lists the deceased for whom prayers should be offered, which includes the sect founder Nichiren, the lineage of Honpō-ji priests, and members of Tōhaku’s family.  For approximately a month after the Nehan-e prayer ceremony that marks the anniversary of the Buddha’s death, the original 400 year old painting is displayed in the temple’s hall for all to see, but even during other periods visitors can still view a recreation of the famous work. 

Particular points of note include the realistic and varied depictions of grief on the mourners’ faces surely inspired by the artist’s own life, the difference in drawing styles illustrated in the various animals, only some of which the artist would have been able to draw after seeing them with his own eyes, and the mourner in green to the far left with his chin in his hand, which is said to represent Hasegawa Tōhaku himself.

In spring, the grounds of Honpō-ji are overtaken with clouds of fluffy pink and white cherry blossoms.  Lining the path from the temple gate, clustered around a small shrine, framing the tahōtō pagoda, and complementing the main hall, these sakura can be enjoyed without worrying about the crowds that can sometimes plague more well-known tourist locations.  There is something quite a bit more relaxing about enjoying cherry blossoms undisturbed, and Honpō-ji’s serene grounds offer a chance to examine Kyoto’s gorgeous sakura contrasted against classic temple and shrine architecture. 

Honpō-ji’s main garden is called the Mitsudomoe no Niwa, or Garden of Three Tomoe, which are comma-shaped designs traditionally used in Japanese crests.  This garden was originally designed by Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558 – 1637), a famous ceramicist, calligrapher, and lacquerer.  Instructed in Nichiren Buddhist precepts by the head priest at the time, Hon’ami Kōetsu created this masterpiece at Honpō-ji.

A karesansui (dry rock) garden, the Mitsudomoe no Niwa has a “waterfall” made of stones on one side, the movement of water illustrated by white streaks naturally present in the rocks.  A small pond in the middle of the garden is home to summer-blooming lotus, a flower long held sacred as a metaphor for Buddhism, beautiful and clean though it springs from the mud.  There is a stone fixture set into the ground to the left of this pond, which has a line through it to abstractly represent the kanji “日”, pronounced “nichi”.  When put together with the lotus, whose kanji spelling of “蓮” can be read “ren”… you get a subtle homage to Nichiren, who started the Nichiren sect!

Another point of interest is the stone lantern set towards the back of the garden, which as you may note seems to have splotches of warmer color marring the usually grey stone.  It is said that this occurred when the Great Tenmei Fire ravaged Kyoto in 1788, burning so hot that the flames permanently changed the color of the stone.    

The small Tsunashi no Niwa, or Garden of Ten Stones, is located between the temple hall and the chokushimon (gate for imperial messengers).  Though its name refers to ten stones, you may be surprised to count only nine scattered through the garden.  In philosophical fashion, it is said that that the tenth “stone” that completes the set is the heart of the person who views the garden.  This garden is particularly charming when the cherry blossoms are in bloom and their pink and white hues can be seen through the latticework of the gate.