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History of Ryotanji Temple
This Temple was founded in the year 733 by the Priest Gyoki, who enshrined a Buddhist image here. In the year 1010, a baby appeared in the "Well" which is in front of this temple, and there was washed (for purification). The child was raised at the temple until he was 7 years old. In later years, the child retired to Iinoya (this area) and took the name of "Ii". Then he was named Ii Tomoyasu, who was the feudal lord of the Ii family, When he died in 1093, he was buried in this temple. The Ii family had governed this region for approximately 500 year until Ii Naomasa (the 17th. Lord Ii) moved his residence to Hikone City in Shiga Pref. During that 500 years period. Ryotanji served as their family temple.
The Ii family were the ancestors of Ii Naosuke, and the character for "Well" is in the family crest. Since there was a wild orange tree beside the well, the character for this tree is also on the family crest.
In the year 1572, this temple was (burnt by) the Lord Imagawa. The whole building was rebuilt by the Ii family in the Edo Era. The Hondo (Main Hall) was built in the year 1670. The Kaisando which was constructed to honor the enshrined priest "Kaisan" was built in 1702. The Kuri (entrance building) was made in 1815.
Ryotanji Garden
Ryotanji temple was designed and executed by Enshu Kobori, a famous artist of the early Edo era. He adopted the Chisen Kansho style of temple garden, which means the garden can best be appreciated while sitting on the veranda. In this garden, local mountain rocks (red chert) are beautifully arranged with Shugoseki in the center. On the right and left of the garden are Guard stones. In the front of the garden is Raihai-seki (the stone of Prayer). Directly in front of these rock formations is a pond which takes the shape of the Chinese character ''Kokoro", "the heart of things." Other stones represent waterfalls (there are five of these), a crane and a turtle. The combination of these many rock formations and the pond makes this a typical temple garden. One can enjoy the changing colors of the garden with the passing of each season.
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The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.Text by Steve Smith.
