Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Places of Learning


Ryounji Temple above and Nagono/Tennosha on the bottom.



During Nobunaga's crazy youth, he actually received some formal education.  Ryounji Temple built by his uncle Oda Nobumitsu was the place where Nobunaga learned calligraphy.  It was located near the Shonai River.  Inabaji Castle, a citadel of Oda Nobumitsu, was close by as well.  In fact, the Inabaji landmark is only few minutes from Ryounji.  At the grounds of Ryounji, Oda Nobumitsu's grave can be found.  The temple is peaceful and it has a beautiful small pond as well.

Nagono Shrine located near Nagoya Castle has a long history in the area.  The shrine was established in 911 and it was dedicated to the Shinto god Susanoo.  During the early part of the 16th century the shrine was a casualty of war as it was put to the torch.  Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide rebuilt the shrine in 1540.  When Nobunaga studied at the shrine as a young lad, it was known as Tennosha.  Hirate Masahide and/or Hirata Sanmi taught the future Demon King at Tennosha.

There is a high possibility that Nobunaga met young Takechiyo (Tokugawa Ieyasu) for the first time at Tennosha.  I tend to agree on that theory.  The shrine moved to its present site in 1876.  Both Ryounji Temple and Nagono Shrine can be easily visited in one day while in Nagoya.

Nobunaga no tame!

10 comments:

D_A Renoir said...

Haha, so there IS some possibility of the idea that young Nobunaga knew Takechiyo... Interesting!

otsuke said...

Yes, they did. I think this is one of the many reasons why the Oda/Tokugawa alliance lasted so long. Yes, Nobunaga was the senior partner, but Ieyasu knew from his past experiences as a hostage at Atsuta that Nobunaga was no fool.

Daeva said...

Oooh, thank you for the infos about the temples where Nobunaga studied :D I knew that there were, since back in the days it was a custom to send daimyo's sons to a temple to receive basic knowledge, but I never found infos about it :D !
I'll try to visit these places whenever I'll visit Nagoya again ^_^ !

otsuke said...

The buildings are there. As for Ryounji, Nobunaga's uncle Oda Nobumitsu's grave is there. The place is very quiet and peaceful.

Daeva said...

Just an info, how is exactly spelled "Nagono Temple" in kanji..? I'm trying to look for its location but I can't find anything with a research in English...

otsuke said...

Try Tennosha Nagoya or Nagoya Jinja.

Daeva said...

Found it :D !

--But are you sure that Nobunaga studied here..? It's a Shinto temple, usually the priests who took care of education were Buddhists...

otsuke said...

Does Rinzaiji ring a bell? Ieyasu was educated there as a boy. Shrines and temples were used not only places of worship, but learning as well.

Daeva said...

In fact that was a Buddhist temple too.
Nagoya jinja was/is a Shinto temple. Shinto temples didn't work like schools as Buddhist temples did, 'cause they didn't care about Zen practices or Chinese culture... That's why I asked :3

I'm really intrigued by Nobunaga's take on religion: http://uesama-dango.blogspot.it/2014/04/nobunaga-and-religion-few-considerations.html

otsuke said...

Read Gorge Sansom's A History of Japan 1334-1615. The answer is there regarding Nobunaga and religion.