Kaidan-in Temple

Kaidan-in is a quiet Rinzai-sect temple just west of Kanzeon-ji in Dazaifu. A kaidan is a platform where monks and nuns receive the precepts they must observe, and without receiving them there one was not recognized as a proper monk or nun. Together with Todai-ji in Nara and Shimotsuke Yakushi-ji in Tochigi it is counted among Japan's three great ordination platforms, and as the platform for Kyushu it was known as the Western Kaidan or Tsukushi Kaidan.

Its history goes back to the arrival of the Tang monk Ganjin. After failing in five attempts to cross the sea and losing his sight, he landed at Bonotsu in Satsuma in 753, and he is said to have reached Dazaifu and performed Japan's first ordination on this site, then part of Kanzeon-ji. He later moved to the capital at Heijo-kyo and in 754 set up an ordination platform at Todai-ji. In 761, Kaidan-in was established in a corner of the Kanzeon-ji precincts. In 1703, in the Edo period, it became independent of Kanzeon-ji and became a branch of the Rinzai temple Shofuku-ji in Hakata, which it remains today.

The principal image is Birushana Buddha, a work of the late Heian period designated a national Important Cultural Property. It is not flashy, but it offers a quiet encounter with an ancient statue. The bodhi tree growing at the north side of the grounds is said to have been brought from Tang China by Ganjin, and some visitors come for its fragrance when it blooms around early June. May 6 each year is the anniversary of Ganjin's death, and a memorial service called Ganjin-ki is held.

The appeal of Kaidan-in lies in stepping slightly away from the tourist bustle to feel the history of the ritsuryo state and Buddhism. Kanzeon-ji next door is an old temple said to have been vowed by Emperor Tenji, and visiting both brings to mind how this area was once the center of Buddhism in the west.

The best times are early June, when the bodhi tree flowers, and weekday mornings, when the grounds are calm. A visit takes about 30 minutes, but walking on to Kanzeon-ji and the government office ruins makes a half-day stroll. The temple is about 10 minutes on foot from Gojo Station on the Nishitetsu Dazaifu Line. By car it is about 4.5 km from Dazaifu IC on the Kyushu Expressway, with free parking for about 50 cars. Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, the Kyushu National Museum and the Ono Castle ruins lie nearby, so you can link the ancient and medieval sights of Dazaifu in one day.