Kurume History Walks
No.44 Bairin-ji Temple – Ancestral Halls of the Arima Family
Bairin-jiArimakeTamaya

梅林寺 有馬家霊屋

Bairin’in Ancestral HallIn 1621, twenty years after the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate that lasted around 250 years, Arima
Toyouji entered the Kurume castle as a lord of Kurume Domain in Chikugo Province (northern half of theprovince). His family ruled the domain until 1868 when the shogunate ended.
Their family temple was this Bairin-ji Temple, located on the southwest of Kurume Castle, and also theShoun-ji Temple in Hirao, Tokyo. If died in Kurume, the deceased was buried in the former temple, and if inTokyo, buried in the latter temple.
Today in the graveyard of the Arima family within the ground of Bairin-ji Temple, there are the lords’
ancestral halls and stone pagodas (tombstone), and those of their family members and retainers. Above all, fivehalls were built in the 17th century. These historical values were recognized, and these were designated National
Important Cultural Properties in December 2018.

1Kurume History Walks / No.44 Bairin-ji Temple – Ancestral Halls of the Arima Family

Bairin-ji Temple and the Graveyard of the Arima Family
Konanzan Bairin-ji Temple (formal name) is locatedbetween the Chikugo River and the JR Kurume Station.
In 1621, Arima Toyouji was ordered to move as a lord toKurume from Tanba, Kyoto. At that time, he transferred
the Zuigan-ji Temple to Kurume and renamed the Bairinji* Temple.
JR Kurume Sta.

*Bairin-ji, literally plum trees temple. The Buddhist name of
Toyouji’s father was Bairin’in. Today, people can admire the flowersof plum blossoms in the garden in February.

At the temple, four lords were buried: Toyouji the first,
Tadayori the second, Yoriyuki the seventh, and Yorito thetenth. The graveyard is on a hill to the north side of thetemple buildings. There are five halls, seven stone
pagodas, etc.

Bairin-ji Temple

Chikugo River

In the Edo period
Their ancestral hall was constructed between thetransfer of the tomb of Toyouji’s father from Tanba in
1630 and the burial of Toyouji, his wife, and Tadayori in
1655. And the third lord, three stone pagodas were built
as tombs. There are also the stone pagodas of lords’
children and retainers.
The “Diagram of Konanzan (Konanzan-Zu)” which
was drawn in the middle of the 18th century shows theappearance of the halls of that time with a Chinese-stylegate and a mud wall, which don’t exist today. The“Collection of Handwriting in1846 (Koka SannenTekagami)” indicates that “guards” took care of theAncestral Hall daily.

Konanzan Bairin-ji Temple

Ancestral Halls on the Diagram of Konanzan

Lords of the Arima family
As the lord of Kurume Domain, the Arima familylasted until the 11th generation for about 250 years, from1621 to the establishment of the new government after theTokugawa Shogunate.
Five halls of the Arima Family consist of two halls forhousing stone pagodas on the lower place of a hilly
graveyard, and three halls of housing mortuary tablets on
a higher place.
Primogenitor: Yorinori The 5th: Yorimune

The 10th: Yoritoo

The 1st: Toyouji

The 6th: Norifusa

The 11th: Yorishige

The 2nd: Tadayori

The 7th: Yoriyuki

The 3rd: Yoritoshi

The 8th: Yoritaka

The 4th:The 9th: YorinoriYorimoto*Indicated in green wereburied at the Bairinji
Temple.

Arima Toyouji, the first lord
(Collection of the Sasayama-jinja Shrine)

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Kurume History Walks / No.44 Bairin-ji Temple – Ancestral Halls of the Arima Family

Bairin’in Ancestral Hall (梅林院霊屋)
The hall houses three stone pagodas of Yorinori, theprimogenitor (1533-1602: his Buddhist name wasBairin’in), the primogenitor, his wife, and his daughter. It
has a hip-and-gable roof and a platform made of large
square-cut granite stones which exhibit a characteristicarchitectural style of the early 17th century. An inscription
on a stone lantern placed in its front also indicates that it
was built in 1630.

Shunrin’in Ancestral Hall (春林院霊屋)
Located on the northeast side of the above-mentioned
hall, this has a square hip roof and a platform made of large
square-cut granite stones. It houses four pagodas ofToyouji, the first (1569-1642: his Buddhist name wasShunrin’in), his wife (Choju’in), his son Tadayori, thesecond (Keirin’in), and his great-great-grandchild
Yorimune, the forth. The rightmost pagoda is the largestand bears an inscription about its history of construction
on the platform. And, an inscription on a stone lanternplaced in its front indicates that it was built in 1643, andsuggests that the hall was constructed on the occasion ofToyouji’s burial.

Shunrin’in Mortuary Tablet Hall

Bairin’in Ancestral Hall (foreground) and Shunrin’in Ancestral
Hall (background)(春林院位牌Pagodas in the Shunrin’in Ancestral Hall廟)
This hall stands between two other mortuary tablet halls. It houses Toyouji’s mortuary tablet and is thought
to be constructed in 1643 from an inscription on a stone lantern placed in its front. It has a hip-and-gable roof
today, while it is thought to be renovated because it was drawn with a square hip roof on the “Diagram ofKonanzan (Konanzan-Zu)” of the middle 18th century. The mortuary tablet was enshrined in a palace-likeminiature shrine decorated with gilding, lacquering and brilliant colors in the style of the Kansei era (17891801).

Shunrin’in Mortuary Tablet Hall

Mortuary Tablet in the Miniature shrine

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Kurume History Walks / No.44 Bairin-ji Temple – Ancestral Halls of the Arima FamilyChoju’in Mortuary Tablet Hall(長壽院位牌廟)

This was built on the east side of the above-mentioned
hall. Choju’in was Renhime, the lawful wife of Toyouji andthe adopted daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu who establishedthe Tokugawa Shogunate. It was thought to be constructedin 1652 when she died, and to have originally had a square
hip roof as same as the above-mentioned hall. Today, it
stands with a hip-and-gable roof on a platform made of large
square-cut granite stones.
It houses a palace-like miniature shrine and a tombstoneof Chiko’in who was the lawful wife of Noriyori the ninth,and the daughter of Tokugawa Nariatsu from a branch of theShogun’s family. There are Tokugawa’s family crest (threeleaves of hollyhock in a circle) on the door and the roof
ornamentation, and that indicates that the hall was built for
those from the Tokugawa family.

Choju’in Mortuary Tablet Hall

Shunrin’in Mortuary
Tablet Hall

Choju’in Mortuary
Tablet Hall

Keirin’in Mortuary

Keirin’in Mortuary Tablet Hall(瓊林院位牌廟)

This is the latest hall among the five halls of the Arima
family. It houses the mortuary tablet of Tadayori, the second.
An inscription on a stone lantern indicates that the hall wasconstructed in 1655. It also has a hip-and-gable roof today
but also used to originally have a square hip roof. And, apalace-like miniature shrine very similar to the other twowas enshrined.
Since then, three-story stone pagodas were built to pray
for the repose of the deceased lords in the place of building
a hall.

Tablet Hall

Shunrin’in Ancestral Hall
Bairin’in Ancestral Hall

Bairinji Park

Founder’s Hall

Main Hall

KitchenTraining HallScripture House

The graveyard with over five ancestral halls of a lord
Main Gate
family is rare in Japan. About 300 feudal domains existed
throughout the Edo period, and there are only about 30
graveyards with ancestral halls.
Halls
And also, an important point is that there are the records
that indicate who were enshrined and when, and how changed the way to construct a memorial for the departed
lords and their family (ancestral hall → mortuary tablet hall → stone pagoda).
Visitors are kindly requested to respect the sacred character of the graveyard, which is located on the precinctof the Bairin-ji Temple known as a representative training Zen dojo temple in Kyushu.

Cultural Properties Protection Department of Kurume
Address: 15-3 Jonan Kurume Fukuoka Japan 830-8520 Tel: 0942-30-9225
Date of revision: March 31st, 2019 / Translated in December 2020
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