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Koshoji Temple in Kyoto is located right on the southern edge of Nishi-Honganji Temple near Kyoto Station on Horikawa Street opposite the Ryukoku Museum. Koshoji and Nishi-Honganji temples are so close most visitors think they are one and the same and both temples share the same moat that runs around their walls.Indeed the two temples are related and are both Jodo-Shinshu sect temples but with slight differences, not readily apparent to non-Jodo-Shinshu followers

Koshoji grew out of a split in the Bukkoji Temple (now located south east of Shijo Karasuma), when Rennyo (1415-1499), known as the "Restorer" of Jodo-Shinshu, took over control of Honganji and one of his followers at Bukkoji Temple, Kyogo (d. 1490) founded Koshoji next to the Honganji Temple.Koshoji is on the same large scale as its near neighbor and has a shukubo or temple lodging and a study room available for its followers.

The impressive Sanmon Gate at Koshoji Temple on Horikawa, Kyoto

Sanmon Gate at Koshoji Temple on Horikawa; same moat with Nishi-Honganji Temple

A sanmon, also called sangedatsumon (gate of the three liberations) is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen shichidō garan, the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple

Sanmon Gate at Koshoji Temple

A sanmon can be however often found in temples of other denominations too. Most sanmon are twoo or three-bay nijūmon (a type of two-storied gate), but the name by itself does not imply any specific architecture

Gateway to the hall, with large bronze lantern hanging from ceiling

Normally, the name of the member who donated these lanterns is engraved on them

Gate details

Gate details

In front of the large Goei-do Hall (Founder’s Hall) the purification fountain simply covered with a roof standing on pillars

Purification fountain

Every water fountain is different, however the similarities are the very fact it has a roof, working water from a spout into standing water, a number of picket ladles, is normally made from stone, and mainly appears to be like a small, cute shrine

Traditionally, you are not supposed to visit a shrine if you are sick, have an open wound or are mourning because these are considered causes of impurity

In the Buddhist temples in Japan, dragons are used as fountain heads and as decorations. This was for the purification before their worship. The most familiar type of dragon in Japan is the tatsu.

Chinese dragons are closely associated with the rain, but Japanese dragons lean more to the sea. This might have to do with the fact that Japan is not as vulnerable to devastation brought on by drought as China is.

The Goei-do hall at Koshoji was built in 1912

The Goei-do hall at Koshoji was 28m in height

Amida-do also date from the early 20th century

Amida-do

Amida-do

Amida-do

Amida-do

Roof details

Roof details

Roof details

Peacock carving on a building

Shoro is the bell tower of a Buddhist temple in Japan, housing the temple's bonshō

Shoro detail

The oldest building in the

complex is the Kyozo, built in

1848

Kyōzō in Japanese Buddhist architecture is a repository for sūtras and chronicles of the temple history. It is also called kyōko, kyō-dō or zōden. In ancient times the kyōzō was placed opposite the belfry on the east-west axis of the temple. All storage buildings are equipped with shelving to store the containers that hold the rolled sūtras. Some temples have circular revolving shelves for sūtra storage: a central pillar revolves, like a vertical axle, and octahedral tubes are attached to it. A revolving sūtra storage case is called rinzō, wheel repository).

The interior of Japanese Buddhist temple building normally consists of a single room at the center called moya, from which sometimes depart other less important spaces, for example corridors called hisashi

Rennyo Shonin (1415-1499) was a descendant of Shinran Shonin and the eighth Monshu (head priest) of the Hongwanji in Kyoto

Rennyo Shonin (1415-1499)

Above the altar of Goei-do Hall at Koshoji there is a framed tablet on which the characters 見真 , or “see truth” are inscribed in gold

“See truth” is an honorary title that was given to Shinran after his death, by the Emperor Meiji, and the characters are copied from the emperor’s own calligraphy

The Hondo is divided into two parts: Naijin (inner-area) and Gejin (outer-area) The Gejin, or “outer-area”, is the seating area of the temple the Naijin, or “inner-area”, is where you will find the Altar

Kōshōji temple interior details

Kōshōji temple Founder’s Hall altar

The Japanese Imperial kamon

— a stylized chrysanthemum 

blossom

Amida-do gate

Amida-do gate details and the Kyozo roofKawara is the word the Japanese use to describe roof tiles in general, though there are in fact many styles and types of tiles with regional variations, and a large and specialized vocabulary is used to describe these.

Amida-do gateThe most widespread baked earth material in Japan is the

roof tile (kawara)

Text: InternetPictures: Internet Nicoleta LeuCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Sound: Japan Instrumental Music 2016