Toji – Central Seminary of Shingon Exoteric Buddhism

Toji Temple is a big temple having precincts with a rectangular shape of 515 meters in length (north and south) and 225 meters in the width (east and west). When our ancient Imperial Court transferred the capital from Nara (Heijyo-kyo, the name of the city) to Kyoto (Heian-kyo, the same as above), they established two state-sponsored guardian temples, Toji Temple and Saiji Temple, on both sides of Rajomon Gate, which is the main entrance of the new capital, in 796, in order to guard the capital and countries. In 823, Emperor Saga granted Toji Temple, one of the two guardian temples, to Monk Kukai (Kobo-Daishi), who studied the new sect of Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism, in China. Since then, Toji Temple has been the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. The major buildings were damaged by earthquakes and fires, but have been rebuilt to retain the original style of architecture even now.

It is said that Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the mid-sixth century, and Toji Temple was built about 300 years later from the introduction of Buddhism. The Garan* arrangement, which shows the historical background and the characteristics of the sect of Buddhism, is quite different from that of Shitennoji Temple built when Buddhism had just been introduced, and those of Yakushuji Temple and Todai Temple in Nara.
*Garan: A temple building or the temple complex.

Toji Temple has an Garan arrangement in which Kondo (a main hall), Kodo (a lecture hall) and Jikido (a dining hall) stand in a straight line in this order from Nandaimon Gate to Kitadaimon Gate, and a five-storied pagoda stands at the southeastern corner. The three Garan buildings of Kondo, Kodo, and Jikido show, respectively, Buddha (the principal image of the temple is kept), Buddha’s teachings (teachings of the esoteric Buddhism are given), and monks (monks train in life).

(Inside of Toji)

Well, I’d like to introduce you to Toji Temple along the Garan arrangement from the south.

Nandaimon Gate
This is the main entrance gate of this temple, having a width of 18 meters and a height of 13 meters, which is designated as an important cultural property of Japan. This gate was built in 1601 as a west gate of another temple, Sanjyusangendo Hall, and was removed and reconstructed there in 1895.

Nandaimon Gate is seen on the right side, and behind it you can see Five-Storied Pagoda.

Kondo (Main Hall)
The Garan building is designated as a national treasure. When the establishment of Toji Temple was started in 796, and the building was first constructed. When the temple was given to Monk Kukai, the construction had already been completed. In the building, Yakushi Nyorai, Nhaisajyaguru (Buddha able to cure all ills), which is the principal image of this temple, stands in the center, and Nikko Bosatsu, Suryaprabha, and Gekko Bosatsu, Candraprabha, stand on the right-hand side and the left-hand side of the principal image, respectively. The building originally built was burned down in 1486 during an agrarian rising (Nandaimon Gate described above and Kodo described below were burned down at the same time as above), and the present building was rebuilt in 1603.

The building has the similar appearance to that of Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji Temple, and has a Kanso-mado (a window through which people can see the face of the principal image ensconced in it). The height of the face of the principal image, Nhaisajyaguru, however, does not match with that of the window, and so you can see only halos from the window. It means that the building was not built for keeping the Nhaisajyaguru.

Kodo (Lecture Hall)
The Garan building stands in the very center of the temple, and is designated as an important cultural property. The construction of the building was started by Monk Kukai and was finished in 839. Monk Kukai visually expressed the teachings of the esoteric Buddhism by a three-dimensional version of the mandala composed of 21 Buddhist statues in which Vairocana is ensconced at the central position of the temple in the building and decided it as the center of the universe. In this three-dimensional mandala, Shakra is very good looking. The building was also burned down in 1486 as described above, but it was rebuilt in 1491 only after 5 years from being burned down.

Jikido (Dining Hall)
The Garan building is also called “Kannondo” in which an eleven-faced Avalokiteshvara is ensconced. It is presumed that the building was originally established in the early 10th century. After that, it was collapsed by an earthquake, was rebuilt in 1800, and was burned down in 1930. The building we see was rebuilt in 1933.

Five-Storied Pagoda
The building is designated as a national treasure, and is familiar as a symbol of Kyoto; you can see it from the Shinkansen. It has a height of 54.8 meters, which is the highest among wooden towers in Japan. The pagoda was originally established in about 883, but it was burned down by lightning or arson attacks four times, and the present pagoda was the fifth, being built in 1644. The pagoda keeps Buddha’s ashes, carried back by Monk Kukai from China, under the central cylinder.

The transfer of the national capital to Heian-kyo was carried out 1200 years ago. A long time has elapsed since then, and as a result, all facilities built at the same time when Toji Temple was built, including Saiji Temple, Rajomon Gate, Heian Imperial Palace, and Suzaku-oji Boulevard (the main street in Heiankyo capital) disappeared with the sands of time, and the extant relic of Heiankyo is only Toji Temple. Toji Temple was registered as a world heritage in 1994.