Kikuchi Gozan: Dairinji Temple

Dairinji Temple was one of the most important religious institutions in the castle town of Waifu during the height of the Kikuchi clan’s power. It was established by Kikuchi Takemitsu (1319–1373) in the middle of Waifu, on the site of an older temple, as part of Takemitsu’s efforts to restore his clan’s standing after a period of decline.

Takemitsu founded Dairinji and chose four other temples around the castle town—one in each cardinal direction—to make up the Kikuchi Gozan (Five Temples). The Kikuchi clan protected these temples, which were in turn expected to perform various administrative, supervisory, and religious duties for the clan.

In establishing the Gozan system, Takemitsu was drawing on a tradition that began in China during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) and was brought to Japan by the Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333). The purpose of the Kamakura Gozan system was both to promote Zen, the school of Buddhism favored by the Kamakura shoguns, and to incorporate Zen temples into the government bureaucracy, thereby strengthening the shogunate’s control over the country and its people. The twin objectives of religious virtue and administrative benefits were also what motivated Takemitsu’s introduction of the Gozan system to Kikuchi.

The Kikuchi clan flourished under Takemitsu, becoming the most powerful warrior group in Kyushu, and remained a significant political and cultural force into the late 1400s. Dairinji was moved to its current site, some distance north from the original location, following a destructive typhoon in 1755.

※About the Kikuchi clan.（菊池一族とは）

※Other cultural property explanatory boards are also multilingual.（この他の文化財説明板も多言語化しています。）

九儀山大琳寺

　大琳寺は『国郡一統志』に「久木野大林寺ハ観世音像ヲ安（置）ズ」とあり、『肥後国誌』では九儀野山、久木野山、実相山ともいう禅刹の跡であると記され、「此ノ寺頽転シ、四方昿田ニシテ僅カニ一畝ニ足ラズ、境内ニ九尺四面ノ草堂ニ六臂ノ観音ヲ安ズ、古ノ本尊ハ大日如来ト云、開基等分明ナラズ」とも記されています。１５代菊池武光が菊池五山を定めたとき、地理的にほぼ中央に位置する所に九儀山大琳寺を建立したといわれています。

　天文１９年（１５５０）９月、大友義鎮（宗麟）は北福寺の永珠を大輪（琳）寺住職に任じており、文化１１年（１８１４）頃の『深川手永手鑑』には「氏仏大日　菊池時代九儀山、又ハ中央山大琳寺ト唱エ、菊池五山之内」と記されます。

　もとは現在地から南の「古堂」と呼ばれる田地にありましたが、宝暦５年（１７５５）に大風で倒壊し、現在の場所に移されました。