Urin-in Temple (雲林院)
Urin-in Temple
A large Tendai Sect temple that was situated to the south of Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto. Described within this article.
A Noh play. Sanbanme-mono (Third-category) play of good-looking men.
Please refer to the article 'Urin-in (Noh).'
Urin-in Temple was a large Tendai Sect temple that was situated to the south of Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto (modern day Murasakino, Kita-ku Ward, Kyoto City).
The name later became corrupted to 'Ujii.'
It originally served as Emperor Junna's Imperial villa named Murasakino-in before being passed on to Emperor Ninmyo and eventually being granted to Imperial Prince Tsuneyasu. After the Imperial Prince died in 869, it was bestowed upon high priest Henjo who converted it into a branch temple of Hanayama Gankei-ji Temple which sent three men of legal age to enter the priesthood to engage in the study of Tendai doctrine in 884. Following this, the institution flourished as a state-sponsored Tendai Sect Temple until the Kamakura period and was famed for its Bodhi lectures, cherry blossoms and colored autumn leaves. Urin-in Temple was the setting for 'Konjaku Monogatarishu' (Anthology of Tales from the Past) and 'Okagami' (The Great Mirror), as well as being a famed place in a number of the poems featured in 'Kokin Wakashu' (Anthology of Ancient and Moden Waka Poetry). The temple even became the subject of a Noh song recited in a dream by ARIWARA no Narihira in the plot of 'Ise Monogatari' (The Tales of Ise) but over the years it gradually fell into decline.
In 1324, Urin-in Temple became affiliated with the revived Daitoku-ji Temple as a Zen Sect temple but was destroyed by the fires of the Onin War (1467-1477).
All that remains today is the place name 'Urin-in' and Kannon-do hall as a temple building.