「新竹寺」的歷史紋理、社會實踐及其場所性

Historical Context, Social Practice and Locality of“Xinzhu Temple”

「新竹寺」，原是一座落於塹城南門街之曹洞宗布教所，創設於明治29年（1896）9月，直至明治45年（1912）始建禪寺。歷經初代住持足立普明，及其後田中石光、今西大龍、加藤奇運、松山宏堂等人，1924年由佐久間尚孝擔任第六任新竹寺住持，迄於1945年戰後廢寺止。歷任住持均致力於建立與地方的社會關係，使新竹寺展現出兼具「行動與互動」的宗教場所功能性。今新竹寺雖大部分已夷為平地，僅存一棟鮮為人知的屋宇（今新竹市南門街15號），作為南門里集會所之用。然新竹寺可資開展的地方文史議題，涵攝甚廣，除了關涉臺日佛教互動關係外，本文關注者尤在於作為日治時期由日僧興設的新竹禪寺，如何發揮它的「關係空間性」（寺廟與宗教人士、詩社團體、社會庶民等網絡現象），又怎樣展示出有別於臺灣在地性宗教文化而特具結合「殖民征服」、「佛教護國」與「日本化」，所謂「皇國宗教性」的寺廟性格及其特殊的場所性。

“Xinzhu Temple” was a Cao Dong Zong missionary school on Nan-men Street in Hsinchu. It began in September 1896 and ended in 1945, at the end of World War II. Fumei Adachi was the first abbot, followed by Ishimitsu Tanaka, Dairyū Imanishi, Katō Kiun, Matsuyama Kōdō, and others. Naotaka Sakuma became the sixth abbot of Xinzhu Temple in 1924. These administrators were dedicated on establishing local social relations. Thus, Xinzhu Temple demonstrated religious activities through “action and interaction.” It has since been demolished, leaving just one lesser-known house as Nan-men Li’s meeting place. However, the issues of Xinzhu Temple’s local cultural background may be further extended. Aside than Buddhist contact between Taiwan and Japan, this study focuses on the “relation spatiality” of Japanese temples built by Japanese monks during the Japanese occupation period (such as the relationship between the temple and religious people, poetry societies, and social common people), as well as “imperial religious” temple and the unique locality different from local religious culture in Taiwan and demonstrating “colonial conquest,” “Buddhism-based nation,” and “Japanization.”