Daitoku-ji Temple

is a Rinzai school Zen Buddhist temple in the Murasakino neighborhood of Kita-ku in the city of Kyoto Japan. Its (sangō) is . The Daitoku-ji temple complex is one of the largest Zen temples in Kyoto, covering more than . In addition to the main temple complex including the Buddha Hall and the lecture hall, there are more than 20 sub-temples on the grounds. Daitokuji has produced many famous monks and has a deep connection with the tea ceremony culture, making it a temple that has had a great influence on Japanese culture. The main temple and sub-temples have many cultural assets, including buildings, gardens, sliding screen paintings, tea ceremony utensils, and calligraphy and paintings from China. The main temple of Daitoku-ji is not open to the public, and many of the sub-temples are also not open to the public.

==History== The Zen monk, , who is known by the title Daitō Kokushi ("National Teacher of the Great Lamp") given by Emperor Go-Daigo. the founder of Daitoku-ji, was born in 1282 in Harima Province to a vassal of the Akamatsu clan, and Akamatsu Norimura's elder sister. At the age of 11, he entered the local large temple Engyo-ji and studied Tendai Buddhism, but later became interested in Japanese Zen and studied under noted masters at Kenchō-ji in Kamakura. In 1315 or 1319, with the support of Akamatsu Norimura, he built a small temple, Daitoku-an, in Murasakino, north of Kyoto. Cloistered Emperor Hanazono issued an imperial edict in 1325 designating Daitoku-ji as a supplication hall for the imperial court. The dedication ceremony for the imperial supplication hall, with its newly added dharma hall and abbot's living quarters, was held in 1326, and this is generally recognized as the true founding of the temple. Emperor Go-Daigo issued an imperial edict in 1334 elevating Daitoku-ji to a superior position to the Five Mountains of Kyoto. In addition, the temple received donations from successive emperors, including Emperor Kōgon, as well as influential aristocrats such as Nakamikado Tsunetsugu, Prince Moriyoshi, and Nitta Yoshisada, and by 1333 it had a total of 7,600 koku of estates scattered across in a wide area, including Shinano, Shimōsa, and Mino Provinces, in addition to various areas in the Kinai region such as Harima, Settsu, and Kii Province.