Like other sub-temples of Daitoku-ji, Oobai-in was originally built as a family temple, in this case by Nobunaga Oda, a military figure of the 16th century. The temple was built in 1562, and 20 years later, when Nobunaga died, his vassal Hideyoshi Toyotomi (see also Kenin-ji (建仁寺) and Kodai-ji (高台寺)) rebuilt the main hall and the gate. At the same time, Obai-in received the bell tower and the kitchen ("kuri") from magistrate Kobayakawa. The temple, originally known as Oobai-an (黄梅庵), with "-an" meaning hermitage, changed its name to Oobai-in (黄梅院) to reflect its growing importance.
The temple grounds contain many newer buildings whose blond colour betray their age. All of them are located at the beginning of the visit. Most of the other buildings are centuries old and the kitchen is in fact the oldest of its kind in a Zen temple. The main temple building was recently renovated and was opened to visitors in 2011. The main garden ("Jikichu") around which many buildings revolve has a gourd-shaped pond which only has water during heavy rain. The shape, a classic of the Zen style, comes here from the battle flag of Hideyoshi, which also featured a gourd.
Oobai-in also has several dry-landscape gardens near the main hall, as well as a famous "inverted flower" window on a small passage. Unfortunately it is not allowed to photograph on the temple grounds, except in the small front garden. Recommended for: Access: Nearby: Ryōgen-in 龍源院 (40m), Zuihō-in 瑞峯院 (60m), Kōrin-in 興臨院 (90m), Kōro-an 皐盧庵茶舗 (170m), Daikō-in 大光院 (180m), Gyokurin-in 玉林院 (260m), Kōtō-in 高桐院 (280m), Sōken-in 総見院 (310m), Takeisao-jinja 建勲神社 (400m), Imamiya-jinja 今宮神社 (510m),... External links: ウィキペディア, Wikipedia, Wikipédia, Kyoto Navi, Kyoto Design, 京都風光, そうだ京都, Satellite view, Map Keywords: Japan, 日本, Japon, Kyoto, 京都, Kita-ku, 大徳寺, Daitoku-ji, temple, 寺院, 仏閣, Obai-in, subtemple, 黄梅院, 塔頭 Statistics: visited on 5 occasions, id 339, 28 photos (16 extra photos can be found in the archive). |
