Bairin-ji (Kurume)

This temple was the bodaiji of the Arima clan and originally located in Fukuchiyama in the Tanba Province, where it was called Zuigan-ji (瑞巌寺). In 1620, when Arima Toyōji was transferred from Fukuchiyama Domain to Kurume Domain in Chikugo Province, he relocated the temple to his new domain and named it Dairyū-ji (大龍寺). It was later renamed to Bairin-ji which is associated with his father Noriyori's posthumous name, Bairin'in-den (梅林院殿) and became a mausoleum of the successive daimyō of the domain. It is located in the western end of Kurume city, next to the Chikugo River.

Along with Shōgen-ji in Gifu Prefecture, Bairin-ji was regarded one of the most rigorous and demanding Zen training monasteries (修行道場) in Japan. [https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/living.pdf Living and Dying in Zazen] - Book written by Arthur Braverman (Living and Dying in Zazen - Five Zen Masters of Modern Japan pp.99-100) However, with the start of the Meiji period the temple fell into disrepair with the loss of the Arima clan patronage and with the new government's haibutsu kishaku movement against Buddhism. It was reopened in year 1879 by Masters Sanseiken (三生軒) and Toukaiyuzen (東海猷禅), who served as chief priests (abbot).「昭和平成禅僧伝 臨済黄檗篇」臨済会編 春秋社発行 2010年 146p 関連法系図の表7 The temple is regained today a main zen temple, and the main training temple of the Rinzai Sect in Kyushu, where regular meditation is practiced and taught to monks and lay people.

The temple is a treasure trove of some 600 cultural assets. The collection includes the silken hanging scroll of three Buddhas called Shaka Sanzon (釈迦三尊) and a painting of Mt. Fuji by renowned Edo-period painter Ogata Korin (1658-1716).{{cite web|url=https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/276/|script-title=ja:梅林寺|trans-title= Bairinji Temple |access-date=December 6, 2023|publisher=Japan Online Media Center|language=ja}} Other Edo period cultural assets in the temple include folding screens from Tohaku Hasegawa, and fusuma (Japanese sliding door) paintings in the Kano style.[http://www.kurume-hotomeki.jp/en/event/?mode=detail&id=402036000003&isSpot=1 Bairin-ji Temple] - Kurume Convention Bureau

The colored silk wooden Avalokiteśvara statue in the main hall is the work of the Kamakura period.

File:Bairinji-Gaien Garden 3.jpg

The Gaien (外苑) is a garden which is adjacent to Chikugo River side to the north side. Approximately 30 species of 500 plums donated by the citizens, and many azaleas are planted in the garden. It was opened as a park in 1958 to commemorate the 350 years old of the founding priest, Umon Genkyū Zenji (禹門玄級禅師).{{cite web|url=http://www.kurume-hotomeki.jp/event/?mode=detail&isSpot=1&id=402036000003|script-title=ja:梅林寺|trans-title=Bairin-ji |access-date=October 4, 2018|publisher=Kurume Convention Bureau|language=ja}}

The temple's name, Bairinji, translates to Plum Grove Temple. The plum trees, flower mid-February to mid-March, adding a streak of pink and white to the temple grounds. The blossoms are quite fragrant, and many visitors go to the temple to enjoy a cup of tea and sweets beneath the flowering trees.{{cite web|url=https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/276/|script-title=ja:梅林寺|trans-title= Bairinji Temple |access-date=December 6, 2023|publisher=Japan Online Media Center|language=ja}}

File:Mausoleum of Arima Clan in Bairinji Temple in Kurume, Fukuoka.jpg

On the grounds of Bairin-ji is a cemetery with the graves of the Edo period Arima clan daimyō of Kurume Domain and their families, as well as their deceased vassals. This was designated a National Historic Site in 2021.{{cite web |url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/584633|title=久留米藩主有馬家墓所|language=ja |publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs |accessdate=December 20, 2023}} It was the practice of the Arima clan to construct the grave of a daimyō who died while in residence in Kurume at Bairin-ji, whereas if he died while on sankin kōtai duties in Edo, the grave would be erected at the clan's Edo bodai-ji of Shoun-ji in Hiroo. Thus at Bairin-ji are the graves of the 1st daimyō, Arima Toyouji, the 2nd daimyō, Arima Tagayori, the 7th daimyō Arima Yoriyuki and the 10th daimyō Arima Yorinaga.

The cemetery contains five memorial chapels, all constructed between 1630-1655. These structures were designated National Important Cultural Properties in 2018.{{cite web |url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/411265|title=有馬家霊屋 春林院霊屋|language=ja |publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs |accessdate=December 20, 2023}}

File:Yamamoto Bairinji Zen Temple.jpg

There are several temples in Fukuoka, Saga and Kumamoto Prefectures that are closely related to Bairinji Temple. Mostly for the fact that they also belong to the Myoshin-ji Sect and their respective abbots trained at Bairinji. However, the only temple that is a direct sub-temple is a temple that also bears, for the very reason, a partly identical name:

• Yamamoto Bairinji(梅林寺山本分院) is located only ten kilometers to the West of its mother temple, in Yamamoto Village at the foot of the rugged Mino Mountains.[https://www.google.com/maps/dir/日本福岡縣久留米市+Kyōmachi,+209+梅林寺［臨済宗妙心寺派］/日本〒839-0827+Fukuoka,+Kurume,+Yamamotomachi,+Toyoda%E2%88%921792+梅林寺山本分院/@33.3165622,130.5421469,12z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x3541a4e583955555:0xb0c9ccb43f6127cd!1m2!1m1!1s0x3541a6daec5bc931:0x18343d33c84f1f08!3e0?source=lnms] -Google Maps: Route (and distance) between Bairinji Main Temple to Yamamoto Bairinji Sub-temple

• List of Historic Sites of Japan (Fukuoka)

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category-inline|Bairin-ji (Kurume)}}

• [http://www.kurume-hotomeki.jp/en/event/?mode=detail&id=402036000003&isSpot=1 Bairin-ji Temple - Kurume Convention Bureau]
• [https://picryl.com/media/shaka-triad-bairinji-kurume-6493c3 Public Domain Image of the 14th Century Shaka Triad Scroll - Public Domain Host Picryl]
• [http://www3.city.kurume.fukuoka.jp/shisei/20_12_15/news/04.htm Kurume city homepage]
• [https://youtube.com/shorts/SB8ROK1fHCI?si=yUcSkkCG6ocmKQ3- Inner Zen Garden of Bairinji-ji - A short video hosted on YouTube]
• [https://youtube.com/shorts/n9xOQvSC8Ys?si=xve0pQvXu-1xqz0T In One Minute from Shinkansen Station to Tranquility - A short video hosted on YouTube]
• [https://youtube.com/shorts/7dtFS6vOi3I?si=f1uhpZRuDSQVvZ4C Darkness and Light - Inside of Edo Period Built Zen Temple - A short video hosted on YouTube]

{{Buddhist temples in Japan}}

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Category:Buddhist temples in Fukuoka Prefecture

Category:Rinzai school

Category:Buildings and structures in Fukuoka Prefecture

Category:Kurume

Category:Fukuoka Prefecture designated tangible cultural property

Category:Historic Sites of Japan