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Treasures of Daikaku-ji Temple: Commemorating the 700th Anniversary of Emperor Gouda's Appointment as Abbot August 8 (Wednesday) to September 17 (Monday), 2007 The Collections Hall, Galleries 8-10/17 Daikaku-ji, the renowned temple in the Saga area of Kyoto, was established in 876. At this time, Empress Shoshi, the wife of Emperor Junna (786-840, r. 823-833), converted the imperial villa of Emperor Saga (786-842, r. 809-823) into a temple and appointed her son, the Cloistered Prince Kojaku, its founder. Although the imperial and other court families utilized this area as their entertainment grounds during the Heian period (794-1185), Daikaku-ji went into decline soon afterwards and little is known about its early activities. In 1307, the temple underwent a major revival when the retired emperor Gouda (1267-1324, r. 1274-1287) became its abbot. Emperor Gouda was born on the first day of the twelfth month of 1267 as the second imperial son of Emperor Kameyama (1249-1305, r. 1259-1274) and was named Yohito. From an early age, he was well versed in the Chinese and Japanese classics and was known for his love of learning. He became an imperial prince in the sixth month of 1268 and the crown prince in the eighth month of the same year. In the first month of 1274, as crown prince, Yohito inherited the imperial throne at age eight to become Emperor Gouda and, in 1287, abdicated in favor of Emperor Gofukakusa's second son Prince Hirohito (the future Emperor Fushimi). Gouda was a devotee of Buddhism, especially of esotericism. In the fourth month of 1307, he underwent the esoteric consecration ritual to receive the ecclesiastical title ajari (J., denpo kanjo) from the priest Kenjun of the Daigo-ji subtemple Hoon-in. In the seventh month of the same year, however, he was introduced to the Great Abbot Zenjo (1247-1330) of the Ninna-ji subtemple Shinko-in on the occasion of his wife Empress Yugimon-in's (1270-1307) death. Through this connection, he took the tonsure under Zenjo and entered Daikaku-ji as Priest Kongosho at the age of forty-one. His lifelong respect of his teacher Zenjo reveals the sincerity of this emperor, who was a prolific producer of hand-copied scriptures and calligraphic works as the esoteric priest "DenpM Ajari Kongosho" and who was responsible for the construction of several buildings at Daikaku-ji, including the main hall and the monks' quarters. In this way, he is remembered as the "restorer" of Daikaku-ji and is credited for building the foundations of the temple as we know it today.
This year marks the 700th anniversary since Emperor Gouda entered Daikaku-ji. To commemorate this event, this exhibition features a selection of the temple's treasures, including the emperor's calligraphic works and sliding door panel paintings by the Momoyama-period painter Kano Sanraku (1559-1635) that decorated the imperial quarters. Also on display is the Five Great Myoo (Skt., Vidyaraja), the only known masterpiece of the late Heian-period Buddhist sculptor Myoen (d. 1199).
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