Zuiryu-ji

Zuiryu-ji is a Soto Zen temple in Sekihon-machi, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. It was built by Maeda Toshitsune, the third head of the Maeda family of the Kaga Domain, to pray for the repose of Maeda Toshinaga, the second head, who built a castle in Takaoka and died there. According to Takaoka City, its predecessor was Hoen-ji, a temple Toshinaga brought from Toyama when he founded the town of Takaoka; after Toshinaga died in 1614, it was renamed Zuiryu-ji after his Buddhist name. The temple says construction took about 20 years, from the Shoho era until 1663, the 50th anniversary of Toshinaga's death.

The layout follows temple architecture introduced from China in the Kamakura period: the Somon (outer gate), Sanmon (Main Gate), Butsuden (Buddha Hall) and Hatto (Dharma Hall) stand in a straight line, with the Zendo (meditation hall) and the Okuri (great kitchen) on either side, all linked by surrounding corridors. According to the temple, the corridors measure about 95 meters by about 59 meters. The master builder was Yamagami Zen'emon Yoshihiro, a Kaga Domain carpenter trusted by the Maeda family and skilled in the Zen style. In 1997 the Sanmon, Butsuden and Hatto were designated National Treasures, and the Somon, Zendo, Daisado (great tea hall) and corridors are also Important Cultural Properties.

The national cultural properties database dates the Sanmon to 1818. It is a two-story gate, three bays wide with one doorway, with a hip-and-gable roof of wooden shingles and side corridors on the left and right. According to Takaoka City, the first gate burned in the third year of the Enkyo era, in the mid-Edo period, in a fire that started in the bathhouse on its north side. Rebuilding was slow because of the domain's financial difficulties, but permission was granted at the townspeople's request, and with a descendant of the original master carpenter in charge, the gate was completed in Bunsei 1 (1818). It is about 18 meters tall; Shaka Nyorai and the Sixteen Arhats are enshrined in the upper story, and Kongo Rikishi guardian statues stand on both sides of the entrance.

The Butsuden dates from 1659 and enshrines the principal image, Shaka Nyorai, with the attendants Monju Bosatsu and Fugen Bosatsu. According to the temple, it is a Zen-style hall built entirely of zelkova; its upper rafters spread out radially in the fan pattern, while the lower rafters run parallel. The roof is covered with lead tiles weighing 47 tons in total. The Hatto, at the far end of the compound, dates from 1655. At the center of its inner sanctuary stands Maeda Toshinaga's memorial tablet, about 210 cm tall; the ceiling bears paintings of flowers of the four seasons by Kano Yasunobu, and the transom at the front is carved with phoenixes.

A visit runs straight from the Somon through the Sanmon and Butsuden to the Hatto, and walking the corridors shows the symmetry of the layout. According to Takaoka Kanko Navi, leaving the corridors on the south side of the Hatto brings you to five stone mausoleums, including those of Maeda Toshinaga, Maeda Toshiie and Oda Nobunaga. The upper story of the Sanmon is usually closed, but it opens during the treasure exhibition held every year in early November, when treasures donated by the Maeda family are also shown. Other events include the Toshinaga memorial on May 20 and the ringing of the temple bell on December 31.