Oda Nobunaga’s Seppuku: Honnō-ji!, a set on Flickr.
Memorial site of Oda Nobunaga!
This temple is the head temple of the Hokke-shu Hommon sect, and was established in the year 1415 by the monk Nichiryu.
In 1582 Oda Nobunaga was attacked at this temple by Akechi Mitsuhide (the Honno-ji incident). Although this temple is famous world wide where Nobunaga committed suicide with his own sword, at the time it was a grand temple with over 30 residences, which was burnt to the ground.
In 1589 the temple was rebuilt in its current location through the town planning efforts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi only to be later destroyed in great fires at the end of the Edo period. The main temple was completely destroyed. The current temple is a reconstruction completed in 1928.
To commemorate the appointment of Tokugawa Yoshimune as shogun, the visits of a tongsinsa diplomatic mission was requested from Korea. In response, a delegation consisting of 346 members was sent to Japan and stayed at this temple in 1719. The members of the mission said that the temple “was incomparable more magnificent than any other” (Sin Yu Han). At night, a great banquet was held here at the Shogun’s command. This event was symbolic of friendly relations between Japan and Korea.
In the back of the temple are the grave yards of some famous Japanese people, such as Oda Nobunaga and Gyokudo Urakami.
Gyokudo Urakami:
In 1745, he was born at a Kamokata Clan residence in the Bitchu area under the rule of Okayama castle.
Urakami Gyokudo, “Clouds Shield the Layered Cliffs”.
Gyokudo’s real name was Takasuke.
Shortly after turning 35 years old, Gyokudo called himself Gyokudo-Kinshi after the signature engraved on his beloved seven-stringed Koto (a traditional Japanese harp). Along with his clan duties, Gyokudo played the koto, recited poems, practiced brush calligraphy, painted when under the influence of alcohol, living free from worldly cares as a man of literary significance.
At the age of 50, Gyokudo left Okayama with his two sons, shunkin and shukin, and started on an empirical journey around Japan. His spirit of living as a free man was enhanced and embodied day by day.
Gyokudo attained a style of his own, reaching great heights in modern painting in Japan. In his later days, he settled down in Kyoto and died in 1820.
“To-un shisetsu zu” (Representation of Eastern Clouds, Sieved Snow) is a national treasure owned by the late Yasunori Kawabata.
“San-usen-i zu” (Representation of Mountain Rain dabbling the Clothes) is an important cultural property which is just one of Gyokudo’s many master pieces.
Shunkin Urakami
Born in Bizen as Gyokudo’s firstborn son in 1779, Shunkin was introduced in to the mysteries of art by his father Gyokudo and studied paintings of the Ming-Chingeras. After the enlightening journey around Japan, Shunkin settled down in Kyoto. Noted as a painter of precise, elaborate works, Shunkin kept company with fellow contemporary celebrities such as San-yo Rai. He died in 1846.
