Honpoji Temple, The Precursor of the Rimpa School, Hon'ami Koetsu's World of Faith and Beauty

The tender green of the trees from outside is reflected on the polished stone floor at Honpoji Temple in Kyoto. The colors shimmer on the black surface and create a tranquil atmosphere. It’s incredibly beautiful. Honpoji Temple stands as one of the temples within the Nichiren Sect of Buddhism, established by Priest Nisshin during the era of the sixth shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshinori. Koetsu's great-grandfather, who faced imprisonment due to the displeasure of Ashikaga Yoshinori, encountered Nisshin while in prison, subsequently embracing devotion to the Lotus Sutra and affiliating with the Nichiren Sect. This connection led him to become a parishioner of Honpoji Temple.

Gems Associated with Hon'ami Koetsu

Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558-1637, 本阿弥光悦), a follower of the Hokke school of Buddhism and an artist during the late Momoyama period (1573-1615) to the early Edo period (1603-1868), created its garden as its big patron. Notably, the garden design in front of the veranda symbolizes "Nichiren, 日蓮" through two stones. The character "日" symbolizes the Lotus Sutra's teaching that "like the light of the sun, we should remove people's delusions," while "蓮" represents the Lotus Sutra's wisdom of that "like the lotus flower, we should live our lives unstained by the muddy world. The calligraphy of the hengaku (temple's name tablet displayed on the gate) and the 10-volume "Lotus Sutra" housed in the lacquered "Sutra Box with Vines Floral" is significant. The mother-of-pearl inlay on the center of the box features the title of "Lotus Sutra," underscoring Koetsu's profound religious convictions.

The Hon'ami Family, A High-Class Merchant & Followers of the Lotus Sutra

The Hon'ami family, a high-grade merchant in Kyoto, known for their autonomy, specialized in sword polishers and connoisseurs. Across generations, they had served the Imperial Court, the Ashikaga shoguns of the Muromachi Shogunate, and various warlords during the Warring States period. In 1615, Koetsu was granted the estate of Takagamine in the northern region of Kyoto by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Settling there alongside other craftsmen who shared their devotion to the Lotus Sutra faith.

Nichiren, Preached the Benefits of This World

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), when Nichiren (1222-1282, 日蓮), the founder of the Nichiren Sect of Buddhism centering on the Lotus Sutra, lived, natural disasters and epidemics were rampant. The royal law and conventional Buddhist teachings were unable to bring salvation to the world. In particular, the great Kamakura earthquake of 1257 destroyed most of the shrines and temples, and the death toll reached tens of thousands. Under these circumstances, Nichiren appealed to the Kamakura Shogunate about the dangerous risks of "natural disasters" and "invasion of other countries)" in his book "Rissho Ankoku Ron." As foretold, the Mongol invasion (Genko) occurred twice.

The Lotus Sutra Spread Among the Marchents

In such a world, Nichiren preached the benefits of this world that affirmed the time and place we live now based on the teaching that "this world is the Jakko-do (the land in which Buddha resides) as described in the Lotus Sutra." This teaching gradually spread among the merchants living in the everyday real world, because conventional Buddhism, which sought rebirth in the Pure Land after death, had no meaning for them. In fact, of the three wealthiest merchants in Kyoto in the early Edo period, Sumiya, Goto, and Chaya, the latter two were adherents of the Hokke school of Buddhism.

This idea of affirming the present time and place was probably easily associated with art, which uses the materials available in the world to create something. Moreover, Nichiren's innovative approach believing the Lotus Sutra of not only accepting reality but also confronting and sometimes challenging it, must have served as a powerful guide for artists trying to break through the "tradition" that had become indistinguishable from inertia. (idiomatic translation)

Motoaki Kono, Director of the Seikado Bunko Art Museum

The Quintessence of Koetsu and Sotatsu
Poems by the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets over Paintings of Cranes

When Koetsu was 50 years old, he proposed creating a joint piece of work for Tawaraya Sotasu  (1570-1643, 俵屋宗達), which was Koetsu’s calligraphy of Waka (Japanese poetry) selected from Thirty-six Master Poets on Sotatsu’s painting. Sotasu painted numerous cranes in flight as a bird of good omen in silver and gold on the rolling paper nearly 15 meters in length splendidly and got them land lyrically. Koetsu started writing Waka one by one after thinking of the finest style and taste to make this piece the best of art. His ink brush ran rapidly and sometimes slowly, danced, and sometimes stopped in thick and thin style. This work is called “The Thirty-Six Immortal Poets over Paintings of Cranes (鶴下絵三十六歌仙和歌巻),” one of Japan’s important cultural properties.

World-renowned Masters are Followers of the Lotus Sutra

As a distinguished painter, Koetsu afforded a promising yet obscure artist, Sotatsu, the opportunity to learn from his artistic skills. Sotatsu admirably lived up to Koetsu's expectations and went on to create several exceptional works of art, such as "Fujin Raijin-zu" (Pictures of the Wind and Thunder Gods). Together, they founded the Rinpa school, one of the prominent historical schools of Japanese painting. Later, Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610, 長谷川等伯), Kano Eitoku (1543-1590, 狩野永徳), Ogata Korin (1658-1716, 尾形光琳), Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849, 葛飾北斎), and others were admired as great masters in the world. These individuals were followers of the Lotus Sutra school of Buddhism.

@ ColBase（https://colbase.nich.go.jp/）

Koetsu's Works Embody the Lotus Sutra

After Koetsu's passing at the age of 80, his house in Takagamine became Koetsuji Temple. Koetsu was an extraordinary artist in multiple disciplines such as painting, calligraphy, lacquerware, and ceramic art. He created the art of refined ultimate beauty, which has continued in modern art to this day. Was Koetsu himself trying to create a work of art himself? Did he dedicate himself to expressing the Lotus Sutra in the world by creating his artworks as a result of his devotion to the Lotus Sutra, which teaches "plants, trees, and flowers as they are in the form of the Lotus Sutra"? From our contemporary perspective, these works can be perceived as the ultimate beauty because they have the faith of the Lotus Sutra within them.

Hon'ami Koetsu Timeline

1185	Minamoto Yoritomo established Kamakura Shogunate	-	Kamakura Period
1222	Nichiren was born	-
1242	Nichiren established Nichiren Sect of Buddhism	-
1257	The great earthqueake hit the Kamakura	-
1260	Nichiren wrote "Rissho Ankoku Ron"	-
1274	Mongol invasions to Kyushu (The Bunroku War)	-
1281	Mongol invasions to Kyushu again (The Koan War)	-
1282	Nichiren was passed away	-
1333	Ashikaga Takauji defeated Kamakura Shogunate	-	Kenmu Restoration
1336	Ashikaga Takauji estabilished Muromachi Shogunate	-	Muromachi Period
1467	Onin War started (- 1477)	-	Warring State Period
1536	Tenmon Hokke incident. Nichiren Hokke Shu expelled from Kyoto	-
1558	Honami Koetsu was born	Age=1
1573	Muromachi Shogunate ended	16	Azuchi Momoyama Period
1582	Nobunaga was killed at Honnoji by Akechi Mitsuhide	25
1598	Hideyoshi passed away	41
1599	Maeda Toshiie passed away	42
1600	Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Ishida Mitsunari, Hideyoshi's right arm at the battle of Sekigahara	43
1603	Tokugawa Ieyasu established Tokugawa Shogunate at Edo	46	Edo Period
1615	Koetsu was presented Takagamine by Ieyasu	58
1616	Ieyasu passed away at the age of 75	59
1619	Koetsu transcribed "Rissho Ankoku Ron" at the request of Myorenji Temple.	62
1627	Koetsu wrote the hengaku of Ikegami Honmonji Temple	70
1637	Honami Koetsu passed away	80

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