The Byodoin was constructed in order to create a Land of Happiness. Everything inside the Byodoin is the best among the mid-Heian era’s architecture and art. Byodoin must have been a palace of paradise that all the Heian nobles dreamed of. “If you pray hard to Amitabha Tathagata, you will be able to go to the Land of Happiness.” What beautiful dreams did those people dream of, who searched for an ideal world in the other world? The answer is perhaps, the Byodoin (Buddhism).
In the later Heian era, it is said that the Jyodo style garden first appeared. In the drawings of the Land of Happiness of that time, there would always be an Amida in the middle of the palace style house with a pond in the front. The Jyodo style garden was made on the basis of these drawings. The nobles had all the money and power in their hands, and they had no impossible dreams. Although nothing could be done for them after they die, their strong wish made them create a Land of Happiness in this world. They created ornate statues, built palace-style homes, and also built ponds and gardens. This is the beginning of the Jyodo style garden.
The garden of the Byodoin is a grand Heian era garden, and is designated as a garden of scenic beauty. Byodoin’s garden of Uji, Kyoto is the typical kind of Jyodo style garden. The Byodoin is famous for being the representative architecture, still remaining of the palace style. Although it represents the palace style, the building and garden are ?against the rules? of this style. For example, the pond of the Byodo-in is in the East-not the South. Fujiwara no Yorimichi may have intentionally broken the rules of the palace style to be able to cross the Uji River where the Naka-jima Island floats, to get to the Hoo-do by boat. Another example is that the Hoo-do which stands on the Naka-jima Island and not beyond the island. There from the Uji-jinjya shrine on the other side of the river, people were able to see the Hoo-do reflecting on the water (Gardens).
Heian era gardens were very important to the structure of temples. There serve as reflecting pools and also a way to access the temple. These gardens were the true interpretation of the Land of Happiness. They tried to physically represent what they thought the Land of Happiness was like, what the nobles and aristocrats would want their Nirvana to look like.
For all these reasons, Byodoin is one of the intriguing and yet educational landmarks of Japan. It tells us about the religion of the people, the culture during the time it was built, and what people valued in their art. The Byodoin, or rather the Hoo-do, stands today as only a glimpse into the life of not only the Fujiwara family, but also the other aristocrats of the Heian period. Not only are there art, sculpture, and carvings to appease the viewer, but there is also a sense of peace. This temple is so revered that a replica was built in Oahu, Hawaii, and in December 1994, the temple was registered in the UNESCO world heritage list as one of Kyoto’s cultural assets(World Heritage) and today remains one of the most highly praised works of architecture in the world.
Works Cited?Buddhism.? http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm?Byodoin Index.? http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~yh6d/byodoinindex.htm?Byodoin Temple.? http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/intro/trad/isan/byoudo_e.html ?Fujiwara Art.? http://www.fwkc.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/j/j013000206f.html#jjjjj013000206aaaaa?Gardens in Kyoto.? http://shuttle.food.kyoto-u.ac.jp/private/taibara/GARDEN/teien.htmlHarada, Jiro. http://www.takase.com/JiroHarada/Chapter04.htmHicks, Nigel. http://www.nol.net/~jeffh/aikiclub/docs/byodo.txt?Heian Era.? http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~yh6d/byodoinindex.htmHooker, Richard. http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/GLOSSARY/AMIDA.HTM?Japanese Temples.? http://www.jinjapan.org/museum/temple/about_te.html?Jodo Sect.? http://www.isei.or.jp/books/63/63_7.html?Japan Travel Updates? http://www.jnto.go.jp/regions/kinki/kyoto/vicinity_of_kyoto/545.htmlMackenzie, Lynn. Non-western Art, a Brief Guide. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 1995. Pages 84-86.
Paine, Robert and Alexander Sober. ?Chronology of Japan?s Architecture.?
?Pure Land Buddhism.? http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/tl/japan/heian.htmlSmith, Huston. The Illustrated World?s Religions. Harper Collins, San Francisco. 1994. Pages 60-61, 64, 70-72, 74-75.
?Thinkquest.? http://library.thinkquest.org/29295/byodo-in.htmhttp://www.kanzaki.com/jinfo/jart-fine.html?World Heritage National Treasures.? http://www.kiis.or.jp/kansaida/uji/uji01-e.html
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