Alexandre Gervais

Nanzen-ji was founded in the middle Heian period. Nanzen-ji is not itself considered one of the “five great Zen temples of Kyoto”; however, it does play an important role in the “Five Mountain System” which was modified from Chinese roots. Tenryū-ji (天龍寺) is considered to be one of the so-called Kyoto Gozan (京都五山) or “five great Zen temples of Kyoto”, along with Shokoku-ji (相国寺), Kennin-ji (建仁寺), Tofuku-ji (東福寺), and Manju-ji (満寿寺). The head temple presiding over the Gozan in Kyoto is Nanzen-ji. After the completion of Shōkoku-ji by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1386, a new ranking system was created with Nanzen-ji at the top and in a class of its own. Nanzen-ji had the title of “First Temple of The Land” and played a supervising role.Wikipedia