Detail
| Cultural Resources Category | Histric Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty |
|---|---|
| Cultural Properties Category | Designation Histric Sites |
| Title | The Site of Ashikaga Family Residence(Bannaji Temple) |
| Designation Date | 1922/03/08 |
| Cities / Towns | Ashikaga |
| Description | It is located in Ietomi-cho, Ashikaga City, within the precincts of the present-day Bannaji Temple. The plan has a trapezoidal shape with a slightly longer west side, and is surrounded on all sides by earthworks and a water moat. The earthen mound is larger in the south than in the north (1.95 m high and 11 m wide), and the water moat is similar (5.9 m wide in the south), measuring 223 m in the north, 211 m in the south, 175 m in the east, and 206 m in the west, with a total area of approximately 41,300 ㎡. In addition, there used to be an earth-plow (1.8 m wide) on the outer side of the moat, but it was cleared in the 1950s. The Ashikaga clan was originally founded by Minamoto no Yoshikuni, the fourth son of Minamoto no Yoshiie, who established Ashikaga Manor as a manor, and the name Ashikaga was taken from Yoshiyasu, the second son of Yoshikuni. Yoshikane, a son of Yoshiyasu, joined Minamoto no Yoritomo during the Jisho and Juei wars (Genpei wars) and became a powerful retainer of Minamoto no Yoritomo. It is said to have been the residence of Yoshikane. In 1196 (Kenkyu 7), Yoshikane became an ordained priest and took the name of Banna. In 1189, Yoshikane renamed the temple from the Jibutsudo (Buddhist temple) he had built in Horinouchi, Ashikagasho, and the name of the temple was taken from the name of the Dharma Law. Therefore, it is plausible that the temple was founded in Kenkyu 7(1196), the year Yoshikane was ordained as a priest. His son, Yoshiuji, made great efforts to develop the temple, and in 1234 (Tempuku 2), he built a large hall of Dainichi Nyorai and other improvements were made to the temple area. Afterwards, successive chieftains such as Yasuuji, Yoriuji, Ietoki, Sadauji, and Takauji, as well as the Muromachi Shoguns and the Kamakura lords, made the temple their own and had strong faith in it. The ruins of the main residence must have been built in the early Kamakura period by Yoshikane, a leader of the Ashikaga clan who helped Minamoto no Yoritomo and was instrumental in establishing the Kamakura shogunate. The grandeur of the building shows the Ashikaga clan's power, and its existence is extremely valuable because the residence has been succeeded as Bannaji Temple and its Buddhist light has been handed down to the present. |
| Copyright | 著作権あり |
