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About Myokan-ji

 Myokan-ji, the Zen temple in Shiga prefecture in Japan, was founded in the middle age, by Mimyo-daishi(the senior grand teacher of Buddhism) who was the second abbot of Myoshin-ji temple, the head of Myoshinji-school of Zen Buddhism.

Mimyo-daishi is said to have been a loyal retainer of the Southern Court named Madenokoji Fujifusa.

After Lord Fujifusa served Emperor Godaigo, he was ordained and practiced at the head temple Myoshin-ji under the teaching of Muso-daishi. At last he reached the great enlightenment, and became the second abbot of Myoshin-ji.

 

 After Mimyo-daishi served Myoshin-ji for about 20 years, he left Myoshin-ji for Mikumo district in Shiga Prefecture because he had got illness. He tied up his hermitage and went into hiding there. This is the beginning of Myoukan-ji. Mimyo-daishi passed away in 1380. He was buried in Myokan-ji, so Myokan-ji is the sacred place of Myoushin-ji school. We have preserved and passed on the teaching of Mimyo-daishi and his graveyard for 650 years.

 

 And also, in Myokan-ji there is the graveyard of Kyozan-Joshu roushi(Zen teacher). He evangelized the teaching of Zen mainly in US and Europe. And he produced many disciplines and practitioners. After his death, his graveyard was constructed in Myokan-ji in addition to Rinzai-ji temple, which is founded by Kyozan-Joshu roushi in LA. Myokan-ji also preserves the teaching and graveyard of Kyozan-Joshu roushi.

 

The motive of this project

 In 2027, We will have the memorial service of 650 years anniversary of death of Mimyo-daishi.(Onki-hoyo) Onki-hoyo is a memorial service held every 50 years after the death of a high priest to commemorate his achievements and express gratitude for his legacy.

 650 years Onki-hoyo of Mimyo-daishi will be held at the head temple Myoushin-ji, and will be held at Myokan-ji, which protects the graveyard of Mimyo-daishi, inviting His Eminence the chief abbot of Myoshin-ji and many other priests.

 In anticipation of the 650 years Onki-hoyo of Mimyo-daishi, Myokan-ji has been working to improve the temple area, including the graveyard of Minyo-daishi and the stone garden.

 However, the porch and other parts of the Founder Hall(Kaisando-Do) have deteriorated due to the weather over the years and need to be repaired. In addition, the temple area is still in the process of being improved, as the statue of Mimyo-daishi enshrined in the hall needs to be restored, and the garden around the hall needs to be maintained.

 

 The Founder Hall was given in 1661 to Gudo Toshoku, the revival founder of Myokan-ji, who received the palace of Emperor Gomizunoo's wife, Tofukumonin (the daughter of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada). This building has high historical and cultural value and is valuable tourism resource for the region.
 Therefore, we have launched this project to raise funds for the restoration of the Founder Hall etc. through crowdfunding and to take this opportunity to let people know about Myokan-ji, a sacred site of the Myoshin-ji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.

 

The Contents of This Project

Myokanji Temple has been striving to maintain the temple area. Specifically, we have mainly carried out the following maintenance

・Dismantling and repairing the statue of the principal image of the Thousand-armed Kannon enshrined in the main hall (approx. 10 million yen)
・Cemetery construction
・Restoration of the main hall (approx. 10 million yen)
・Restoration of the stone garden

 

 In anticipation of the 650th anniversary of Mimyo-daishi's death in 2027, we have decided to ask for donations through crowdfunding to cover the cost of repairing the Kaisando-Hall, where the memorial service will be held, and other expenses. The reason for this is that the entire cost of the memorial service is a huge financial burden for Myokan-ji, and we would like to ask for your support. We sincerely hope that many people will take advantage of this opportunity to meet and get to know each other.

 

・The restoration of the statue of Mimyo-daishi housed in the Founder Hall

・The restoration of the Founder Hall

・The maintenance of the garden in front of the Founder Hall

   Use of Funds and Schedule for the Future

　   Memorial service for the 650th anniversary of the death of Mimyo-daishi, total cost: approx. 27 million yen

　Use of crowdfunding support

　　・Maintenance of the statue of Mimyo-daishi (1.5 million yen)
　・Repair of Kaisando-Hall (1,000,000 yen)

　　・Maintenance of the garden in front of the hall (500,000 yen)

 

 

Future Schedule
・Maintenance of Mimyo-daishi Statue: To be completed by March 29, 2027, when the temple will hold a memorial service to commemorate the anniversary of the temple's founding.
・Repair of Kaisando-Hall: to be completed in 2025
・Maintenance of the garden in front of Kaisando-Do: to be completed in 2025

“Fish in little water has pleasure.”

The Life of Mimyo-daishi

Mimyo-daishi(Jyuou-Souhitsu) was the only Dharma heir of Muso daishi, the founder of Myoshin-ji, the head temple in Kyoto, and the second abbot of Myoshin-ji.

In the first half of Mimyo-daishi’s life, he was Lord Madenokoji Hujihusa, a loyal retainer of the Southern Dynasty, who supported the revival restoration of the imperial role as a chief vassal of Emperor Godaigo. However, a rift developed between him and the emperor regarding the policy of the new government, and in 1334, Lord Hujihusa left the government to become an ordained priest.

Initially, he went to Daitoku-ji temple to train under Daitou-kokusi, and after Daitou- Kokushi's death, he went to Muso-daishi, the Daitou-Kokushi's Dharma heir. Muso-daishi's guidance was rigorous.

The teachings of Muso-daishi were rigorous, but Mimyo-daishi was given a koan(Zen question for meditation), “Why do people go astray when their minds are naturally endowed with the Buddha-nature?” which led him to great enlightenment. Mimyo-daishi was sealed by Muso-daishi and succeeded to the Dharma.

A few years later, when Muso-daishi passed away, Mimyo-daishi became the second abbot of Myoshin-ji, and devoted himself to the training of his disciples and the protection and development of Myoshin-ji. After he became ill, he built a hermitage in Mikumo, Konan City, Shiga Prefecture, a place he had long been associated with, and went into hiding, which was the beginning of Myokan-ji.

In 1380, at the age of 85, Mimyo-daishi passed away. Since then, Myokan-ji and the people of Mikumo have carefully preserved and passed down the graveyard of Mimyo-daishi to the present day.

 

 In 1659, Emperor Gosei bestowed upon him the zenshi(Zen Master) title of “Jinkou-jyakusho”

Furthermore, in 1878, Emperor Meiji bestowed upon him the title of “Enkan- Kokushi(National Teacher)”, and In 1927, Emperor Showa bestowed upon him the title of “Mimyo-daishi”.

In 1926, Myoshin-ji also bestowed upon Mimyo-daishi the title of “Koso” , which means the Founder of Myoshin-ji school. This is in honor of Mimyo-daishi’s inheritance of the Dharma of Myoshin-ji and his contribution to the prosperity of Myoshin-ji. As the only Dharma heir of Muso-daishi, Mimyo-daishi raised four disciples and established the foundation of Myoshin-ji.

Not many words of Mimyo-daishi remain. However, the word “Fish with little water has fun.” has been passed down to the present. This was originally a phrase from a certain sutra which was ”Fish with little water has no fun.” but Mimyo-daishi dared to turn it upside down and make it “Fish with little water has fun”. Myokan-ji will continue to uphold the teachings of Mimyo-daishi who taught us to cherish the happiness of living in the here and now without being swayed by any circumstances, and the Zen teachings that he passed down.