Letters from successive emperors that were found at Jojuin, a sub-temple of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, are unveiled to the media in the citys Higashiyama Ward on July 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Kazuki Yamazaki)

       KYOTO -- A total of 194 old documents including orders from successive Japanese emperors ranging from the Muromachi period (1336-1573) through the end of the Edo period (1603-1867) have been uncovered at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto's Higashiyama Ward.

       The oldest of the imperial messages was addressed to the priest Gana, who dedicated himself to restoring the temple after it was destroyed by fire during the Onin War (1467-1477). It stated that Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado had approved of reconstruction of the temple. Also found among the documents were letters of Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), the first shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, and the feudal lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598).

       The documents were found at Jojuin, a sub-temple opened by Gana at Kiyomizu Temple. The temple announced the discovery on July 7.

       The imperial letters were written on gray recycled paper by secretaries via dictation from the emperor. They were all addressed to successive priests of Jojuin, and 15 of them were new discoveries. Many of them requested to come visit and pray for peace in the imperial court.

       In the letters, chief priests at the temple were addressed by the title "shonin," and the inclusion of these titles in the letters is viewed as effective authorization of the "shonin-go" title in imperial edicts.

       Gana solicited donations to rebuild the Kiyomizu temple. He had helped build a bridge over the Kamo River and assisted people who were starving, and thus had local support. He died in 1486, two years after overseeing the rebuilding of the temple's main hall. Jojuin served as a base for donations and held a special place in handling finances and relations with the imperial court, shogunate and influential lords. Toward the end of the Edo period, one of its chief priests was Gessho, who worked with the influential samurai Saigo Takamori (1828-1877)

       The documents also included a letter dated 1335 in which Ashikaga Takauji said he would donate territory from Sagami Province (present-day Kanagawa Prefecture) to the temple, and many letters from military commanders as well as from Toyotomi.

       Many of the old documents discovered were ones that the Historiographical Institute at the University of Tokyo had made copies of in the mid-Meiji period (1868-1912), but whose whereabouts became unknown for about 130 years after this.

       "It's unusual for a large collection of records dating before the Warring States period (starting with the Onin War) to remain," commented Mamoru Shimosaka, a curator at Kyoto National Museum. "It indicates well that Kiyomizu spread religious belief by obtaining authorization, mainly though Jojuin."

       (Japanese original by Yoko Minami, Kyoto Bureau)

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