KANJI – Tsuglag-khang
Approaching Kanji village and the Tsuglag-khang (left)
before restoration; photo Christian Luczanits.
Introduction
by John Harrison, Christian Luczanits, Martina Oeter and Alexandra Skedzuhn
Local tradition attributes the Kanji temple to the great translator Rinchen Zangpo (Rin-chen-bzang-po; 958-1055). In fact, the temple of the Tsuglagkhang (gTsug-lag-khang) in Kanji is approximately 700 years old and more or less contemporary with the three-storeyed temple in Wanla. The temple in Kanji presumably dates from the period when Kanji was part of a local kingdom ruled from Wanla (> Introduction to Wanla).
The Kanji Tsuglagkhang lies at the foot of the cliff on which the historic core of the village stands. It was reported that the temple once had an upper roof, removed some 40 years before, when the roof timbers were reused in the building of the new village gompa. This upper roof was a solely protective device, only 3-4ft/1m high, with a south entrance and a short central pillar.
The temple is cared for and used by Skyapa House (more recently known as Kagarpa), one of the three principal houses in the historic core of the village. Konchok Tinlas (KT), the youngest of three brothers, and a former monk, is now responsible for the maintenance of the building.
Although the temple must have been cared for over the centuries for it to have survived at all, it was neglected during the last century when the caretaker family fell on hard times.
The temple is still in use and maintained regularly. However, the outward drift of the east wall and the weight pressure on the roof has caused damages affecting the wall paintings inside the building. The instability of the walls caused cracks, and water seeping through the roof soiled and partly destroyed the paintings.
The Achi Association chose the Kanji Tsug-lag-kang as its first monument conservation project because of the temple’s fragile state of preservation and the quality of its interior decoration.
Designation of wall sections;
Martina Oeter and Steven Post
based on a drawing by John Harrison.