{Inter} Cultural Japan

Tokyo does not come to mind as the first place to go temple viewing - due to earthquake, war and modernization not many old buildings are left and those that do, often stand side to side with skyscrapers. Most of the temples in fact have been rebuilt in concrete since the war. Despite that, there are some atmospheric places left as Sensoji and Taishakuten, which stand in vibrant neighborhoods, or temples associated with legend and history as Sengakuji.

Here is a look at Tokyo temples.

• Arai Yakushi. Small Shingon temple, not far from the station of the same name on the Seibu Shinjuku line. Founded 1586. Main image is a Yakushi, the Medicine Buddha, who in this case is believed to be especially strong in healing eye diseases. The Ennichi or festival day of the Yakushi is on the 8th of every month and then the temple grounds come to live. The temple has a flea market with lots of pottery on the 1st Sunday of the month.
• Daienji. Small hidden temple in Meguro that harbors a monument of 500 arhats to a disastrous fire that levelled the city, as well as a beautiful Shaka statue in Chinese style.
• Daikyoji or Shibamata Taishakuten. Nichiren temple founded in 1629 by the priest Nitchu. The main image is a figure of the guardian deity Taishakuten, carved from a tablet of pear-tree wood, reputedly by Nichiren himself. The temple stands in Shibamata, an interesting downtown area that has been made famous by the Tora-san films. The walls of the main hall have been decorated with intricate carvings from the Lotus Sutra and attached to it is a nice garden (open to the public for a small fee). But the main things here is the combined atmosphere of the temple and its “town before the gates,” Shibamata.

[Dentsuin]

• Dentsuin. Originally founded as a small Jodo temple in 1415, the temple’s fortunes were revived in 1602 (and its name changed) when it become the funerary temple of Dentsuin, the mother of Tokugawa Ieyasu. There are many impressive monuments in the temple’s graveyard (the main reason for coming here, as all buildings are brandnew), such as the grave of Sen Hime, a daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada who is famous for her dramatic life.
• Ekoin. In 1657 a disastrous fire killed 100,000 poeple and their remains were interred in this Jodo-sect temple, which was especially set up for that purpose. Ekoin continues the tradition of offering a final resting place to victims of natural disasters, to prisoners, and even animals. For two other reasons as well, Ekoin was popular among the people of Edo: it organized exhibitions of Buddhist treasures owned by other temples around the country (such as Horyuji), and later in the Edo period it also became the location for sumo tournaments (since 1768). This annual tradition continued until 1909 when a national sumo stadium was built. There is not much to see in the temple grounds - just a handful of stone monuments - but the temple has a rich tradition and its Amida statue still watches over lost souls.
• Gohyaku Rakanji. Erected in 1695 by Keishoin, the mother of the Tsunayoshi, the fifth Tokugawa shogun, on the east bank of the Sumida. This temple with its wondrous arhat statues and “Turbo Shell Hall” was an important tourist destination in Edo. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the big 1855 earthquake and the arhat statues now have found refuge in this modern hall in Meguro.
• Gokokuji. Founded in 1681 as a head temple of the Buzan school of Shingon Buddhism by Keishoin, the mother of the shogun Tsunayoshi. One of the largest and most dignified temples in Tokyo. Chief image is that of Kannon, carved of amber imported from India. There are many treasures, such as a mandala picture from the Kamakura period. The hill at the back is since the early Meiji period in use as burial place for members of the Imperial family.
• Ikegami Honmonji. One of the headquarters of the Nichiren denomination. Located on a forested hill near Ikegami St. Established in 1274 by Ikegami Munenaka, who was a follower of Nichiren; the saint in fact died here when on his way to Chiba. Nichiren’s ashes are interred here, as are those of several disciples, of Ikegami Munenaka and his wife - and of many famous people from later ages, as the painter Kano Tan’yu, and politicians Katsu Kaishu and Saigo Takamori. The five-storied pagoda dates from 1607 and is together with the sutra repository the only ancient building. On October 12 the Oeshiki Festival is held to commemorate the death of Nichiren, when thousands of believers march to the temple bearing lanterns (mounted on poles and brightly decorated with artificial flowers) and beating flat drums.
• Jindaiji. Tendai temple founded in 733. Main Hall reconstructed in 1919. Famous is the bronze seated statue of the Shaka which is housed in a special modern building where it can be observed through glass. Daruma market on March 3 and 4. Next door is the Jindaiji Botanical park.
• Joshinji (Kuhonbutsu). Jodo temple. The name Kuhonbutsu refers to the nine grades of Amida Buddhas in the Pure Land. The temple consists of three halls, each housing three Amida statues 6 m. high. A popular destination for the Bon festival in mid-August. The temple stands near Kuhonbutsu St on the Denentoshi line. Unfortunately, the halls are usually closed and there is not much to see in the grounds.

[Kaneiji]

• Kaneiji. Originally the most important Buddhist center in Edo during the Tokugawa-period, today little remains of this vast establshment that covered all the land that now forms Ueno Park. Belonging to the Tendai denomination, Kaneiji was also called “Toeizan,” to signify it was the Mt Hiei of the East (referring to Enryakuji, the headtemple of Tendai Buddhism on Mt Hiei near Kyoto). After destruction in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the present main hall was brought here from a Gunma temple in 1875. At the back are still the ornamented gates of a number of graves of shoguns. In the park still rests the Kiyomizudo, a Kannon hall built in the 17th c. as a miniature copy of the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, and the pagoda - the latter stands in the grounds of Ueno Zoo!
• Kannonji (Shiobune Kannon). The main image, a Thousand-Armed Kannon, is shown on Jan 1-3 and May 3, that last day being the festival of the temple, when yamabushi performe a fire ceremony. The temple stands in a valley surrounded by thousands of azaleas.

[Shiobune Kannon]

• Meguro Fudo-son. The official name of this Tendai sect temple is Ryusenji, but the temple is usually affectionately called after the name of its main image, an image of Fudo Myo-o. The temple is old - it was reputedly founded in 808 by priest Ennin. I think this is rather doubtful; all we know for sure is that the temple existed in the early 17th c. when its main hall was rebuilt and the temple received the patronage of the Tokugawa shoguns who used to go falcon hunting in this area. All buildings were lost in the war and are of recent date; the dragon on the ceiling of the main hall (1949) was painted by Kawabata Ryushi. As befits a Fudo temple, there are a spring and a small waterfall (dokko no taki) in the grounds where devotees bath themselves in an ascetic exercise in winter. Normally, the buildings are closed, but the temple springs to vibrant life on festival days such as New Year.
• Musashi Kokubunji. In the mid-eight century, Emperor Shomu ordered provincial temples or Kokubunji set up in all provinces of the nation. They usually stood next to the Kokufu, the administrative headquarters of the area. Most, if not all, of those temples have been lost, and Musashi Kokubunji is no exception, as it was destroyed already in a war in 1333. It has been excavated since 1955 and several huge cornerstones can be seen lying in the grass. A new Kokubunji has been set up next to the site.

[Musashi Kokubunji]

• Nishiarai Daishi. Shingon temple, offically called Sojiji. According to legend founded by Kobo Daishi who carved an image here of the Eleven-headed Kannon. After the Saint prayed for 21 days, a dry well started flowing again and the pure water healed many sick people. As the new well (arai) was located to the west (nishi) of the hall, it was called Western New Well. A popular downtown temple, with the Daishi temples in Kawasaki and sano this is one of the “Three Great Daishi Temples” of Eastern Japan.
• Sengakuji. This small Soto Zen temple was founded in 1612 (and moved in 1641 to after a fire the present spot), but jumped to fame in 1703, when the famous 47 Ronin were buried here, next to the grave of Lord Asano whom they revenged. Incense still billows around their tombs. There is also a small museum.
• Sensoji. Tokyo is relatively new (Ota Doka set up the first castle here in 1457) and so are its temples. The major exception is Sensoji, the Asakusa temple which predates the city by many centuries. Dedicated to the Kannon, this temple is characterized by the long line of shops (Nakamise) extending for 140 meters from the Kaminarimon Gate to the Hozomon Gate. Especially at night this is a picturesque sight. The popular temple was founded in the 7th c. when three fishermen discovered a tiny image (only 5 cm) of Kannon in their nets. The imposing 1651 Kannondo main hall was destroyed in the war, together with the Niomon and pagoda.They have since been replaced with ferroconcrete replacements; the five-storied pagoda is modeled on the pagoda of Daigoji in Kyoto and 48 m. high. Demboin is the place of the abbot’s living quarters. The 17th c. garden is ascribed to Kobori Enshu.
• Shofukuji. The Jizo Hall from 1275 is an architectural wonder and the oldest building in Tokyo - not for nothing it has been declared a National Treasure, the only building in the metropolis to receive this designation.
• Takahata Fudo-son. Fudo temple in the western part of Tokyo. Main festival is on Jan 28, the “First Fudo of the year,” when also a daruma market is held.
• Tsukiji Honganji. A branch of the Nishi-Honganji headquarters of the Jodo Shinshu denomination in Kyoto. The temple came in 1617 to Edo, to the Asakusa area, and was called Asakusa Gobo. It was destroyed during the great fire of 1657, and as the shogunate did not allow it to be rebuilt in Asakusa, the temple moved to a new piece of recently reclaimed by the Sumida River, called Tsukiji (of present-day fish-market fame). Next the temple was leveled by the earthquake of 1923. The present hall was rebuilt in 1935 in Indian style, after a design by modern architect Ito Chuta. It is a strange blend of the old and the modern (the material is concrete to make it fireproof), Japanese and Indian styles. The main image is a statue of the Buddha Amida, seated in a hall that inside reminds one of a Western church.

[Yakuoin. Takao, Tokyo]

• Yakuoin. Shingon temple near the summit of Mt Takao. Said to have been established in 744. It is dedicated to the Yakushi Nyorai (reputedly carved by Gyoki). Stands in a dense forest, a popular weekend hiking destination from Tokyo. The creed is syncretic as the torii shows. The tengu statues in front of the main hall point at the yamabushi links of the temple.
• Zenpukuji. Presumably founded by Kobo Daishi in the 9th c. The buildings are all post-war. Famous is the giant gingko tree in the grounds, the oldest of its kind in Tokyo and according to legend planted by Shinran. For 10 years from 1859 the temple was used by Townsend Harris as the site of the first American legation; there is a stone monument to commemorate this event.
• Zojoji. Founded in 1393 by Shoso, the 8th abbot of the Jodo denomination, as the Kanto headquarters of the sect. There are still a few old structures left, such as the red-lacquered Sanmon dating from 1605 (the oldest building left in central Tokyo). Zojoji was the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns and six shogunal graves were set up in its precincts - the tomb of the second shogun rivaled the Tokugawa temples in Nikko in its gorgeousness. Unfortunately, it was severely destroyed in the war, otherwise it would surely have been a national treasure. The same is true for the temple, which lost much of its glory and now suffers under the shadow of Tokyo Tower.