Jisaiin Temple

A Zen Sub-Temple on the Tenryū-ji Approach

Jisaiin Temple (慈済院, Jisai-in) is a Rinzai Zen sub-temple inside the precinct of Tenryū-ji in Saga, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, and five of its buildings, ranging in date from an early Edo-period gate to a main hall of 1816, were entered together on the national register as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in 2016. Walk west from Tenryū-ji's outer gate along the main approach and a long earthen wall, its plaster studded with pieces of roof tile, runs along the right-hand side. That stretch is Jisaiin.

A sub-temple, or tatchū, is a small monastery within the grounds of a larger one, typically founded to perpetuate the line of a particular teacher. Temple tradition dates Jisaiin to 1363 and names as its founder Mukyoku Shigen (無極志玄), a dharma heir of Musō Soseki and the second abbot of Tenryū-ji. The first site is said to have lain south-east of the present one, near Saimyō Shrine. After a fire in the Kan'ei era (1624–1645) the temple reportedly moved inside Tenryū-ji's walls.

Tenryū-ji has burned often. The head temple's own history lists eight major fires, two of them in 1815 and 1864; the second came during the Hamaguri Gate Incident, when troops of the Chōshū domain were quartered in the precinct and nearly every main hall was lost. Jisaiin was one of three sub-temples, along with Shōgenji and Kōgenji, that came through the 1864 fire. Tenryū-ji's central halls today are Meiji-era and later rebuilds. At Jisaiin, Edo-period buildings survive as a group.

Jisaiin also keeps a small hall for Benzaiten, the goddess associated with music and good fortune. By tradition Musō Soseki carved the image himself and gave it to Mukyoku Shigen, and it is venerated as the Mizuzuri Benzaiten; at Setsubun it serves as a stop on the Tenryū-ji Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage. The Benzaiten hall and its white, Chinese-style Raifukumon gate are not part of the registration, but they stand along the same approach and are the easiest way to spot Jisaiin.

Why Jisaiin's Five Buildings Were Registered Together

All five of Jisaiin's buildings were added in the Agency for Cultural Affairs' 84th round of registrations, under consecutive numbers running from 26-0502 for the main hall to 26-0506 for the front gate. The priests' quarters, the entrance corridor and the shoin fill the numbers in between.

Construction spans about two centuries. The front gate is the oldest, dated to the early Edo period (1615–1661). The shoin and the entrance corridor are late Edo (1751–1830), the priests' quarters date to 1799, and the main hall to 1816, one year after Tenryū-ji's 1815 fire.

Two registration criteria were applied. The main hall and the shoin were registered as buildings that set a standard for design. The priests' quarters, the entrance corridor and the front gate were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape: they give the sub-temple its face on the approach and form the connected working core behind it.

Taken together, the five make up the standard components of a Zen sub-temple. There is the gate onto the approach, the main hall for ceremonies, the priests' quarters that serve as kitchen and office, the corridor that joins them, and a reception room looking onto the garden. Jisaiin keeps that whole arrangement in its Edo-period form on one plot. The separate building pages cover each structure in detail.

How Jisaiin Is Laid Out

The front gate faces the approach that runs from Tenryū-ji's outer gate to the head temple's priests' quarters. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it stands almost directly opposite the Shikidai, the formal step-up entrance of the entrance corridor, so that gate and doorway share one axis.

The main hall faces south, and the same description places it north of the site of Tenryū-ji's former main gate. The priests' quarters stand east of the main hall, joined to it by the entrance corridor. The shoin sits north of the main hall, with a veranda along the side facing the garden to the north-west.

The sequence runs from approach to gate, gate to entrance, then east to the kitchen block or west to the main hall, with the shoin tucked behind. Jisaiin is planned so that each step inward moves from public space toward private rooms.

Visiting Jisaiin Temple

Jisaiin does not normally admit general visitors. No official visiting information could be found, and the interiors of all five buildings are closed. What can be seen from outside is chiefly the front gate and the earthen wall along the approach; please do not step inside the gate. Visitors are reportedly able to pray in front of the Benzaiten hall, and the image itself is said to be shown only on 3 February, the day of Setsubun, when Tenryū-ji holds its Setsubun service.

Tenryū-ji's garden is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:50 p.m.). The head temple charges admission for its garden and halls; Jisaiin's front gate lies on the approach that leads in from the outer gate, about halfway along on the north side. Jisaiin publishes no guidance on photography, so keep to exterior shots from the approach and stand where you will not block other people.

The nearest station is Arashiyama on the Keifuku Randen line, directly in front of Tenryū-ji. Saga-Arashiyama Station on the JR Sagano Line is a 13-minute walk, and Arashiyama Station on the Hankyu Arashiyama Line about 15 minutes. City buses 11, 28 and 93 stop at Arashiyama Tenryuji-mae, and Kyoto Bus routes 61, 72 and 83 at Keifuku Arashiyama Ekimae, both at the temple. Drivers can use Tenryū-ji's car park (about 100 spaces, first come first served, 1,000 yen per car).