Encyclopedia of Buddhism

DAIMOKU

The term daimoku,literally “title,” refers specifically to
the title of the Lotus Su
tra(Myo
ho
-renge-kyo
in Japan-
ese pronunciation) or to its invocation, usually in the
form “Namu Myo
ho
-renge-kyo
.” The daimokuwas
chanted in various liturgical and devotional settings in
Japan’s Heian period (794–1185) and was later given
a doctrinal foundation by Nichiren (1222–1282). It is
the central practice of the NICHIREN SCHOOL.

See also:Chanting and Liturgy; Lotus Su
tra (Sad-
dharmapundarl
ka-su
tra)

Bibliography

Dolce, Lucia Dora. “Esoteric Patterns in Nichiren’s Interpreta-
tion of the Lotus Sutra.” Ph.D. diss. University of Leiden,
2002.

Stone, Jacqueline I. “Chanting the August Title of the Lotus Su
tra:
DaimokuPractices in Classical and Medieval Japan.” In Re-
Visioning “Kamakura” Buddhism,ed. Richard K. Payne.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1999.

JACQUELINEI. STONE

DAITOKUJI

Daitokuji, founded in 1326 as a Rinzai Zen monastery
by Shu
ho
Myo
cho
(Daito
Kokushi, 1282–1338), occu-
pies a vast forested precinct at Murasakino in north-
west Kyoto. Built initially with imperial patronage,
Daitokuji rose to the head of the Gozan (Five Moun-
tains) system. After its destruction by fire and war in
the 1450s to the 1460s, patrons from the warrior and

merchant classes funded Daitokuji’s renewal under the

leadership of IKKYU
So
jun (1394–1481). After demo-

tion from the Gozan ranks in 1486, Daitokuji became

independent.

Daitokuji consists of the main complex (garan) of

gates and communal structures aligned on a north-

south axis, surrounded by semi-independent sub-

temples (tatchu
) spreading out in all directions. Each

subtemple includes an abbot’s quarters, which served

as a mortuary site (bodaisho) for both patrons and

abbots who are jointly commemorated on the central

altars and in mortuary precincts. Many of these

abbots’ quarters are surrounded by dry landscape

gardens, with interior spaces graced by paintings

produced by the finest painting workshops of the six-

teenth and later centuries. Subtemple storehouses

contain an extraordinary inventory of paintings, cal-

ligraphies, books, documents, and other objects,

many of them imported from China and Korea. To-

day most of the twenty-three remaining subtemples

are closed to the general public except during desig-

nated openings.

Perhaps even more than Zen, Daitokuji owes its

continuing reputation and patronage to the world of

tea (chanoyu) in the lineage of Sen no Rikyu


(1522–1591). In 1589 Rikyu
rebuilt Daitokuji’s San-

mon Gate, and designated the Ju
ko
in subtemple as his

family mortuary site.

See also:Japan, Buddhist Art in; Monastic Architecture

Bibliography

Covell, Jon Carter, and Yamada So
bin. Zen at Daitokuji.Tokyo:

Kodansha, 1974.

191

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