Exploring Japanese Landmarks in Nishiki-e and Photographs

Zojo-ji Temple / Shiba Park

The headquarters of Jodo Shu Sect. This was the family temple of the Tokugawa Shogun family, and it inters 6 shoguns as with Ueno's Kanei-ji Temple. The temple's predecessor was the Shingon Sect Komyo-ji Temple constructed at Bushu Toshimagun Edokaizuka (near present day Chiyoda Ward Kioicho) by Shuei, a disciple of Kukai, and in 1393 Shoso converted to the Jodo Shu Sect, and changed the name to Zojo-ji Temple. The temple was relocated to Shiba on the occasion of the renovation and expansion construction on Edo Castle in 1598. The site was expanded through reclamation and other means, and by the first year of the Meiji Era, it had grown to approximately 825,000 square meters and there were already 3,000 monks studying Buddhism there. The honden main Hall, Ankokuden Hall, five-storied pagoda, the Tokugawa mausoleum, etc. were located on the grounds, and in the surrounding area there was a riding ground from Seisho-ji Temple northwest of the temple to the temple's rear gate, and on the eastern and northern sides the "Sakura-kawa River" waterways for providing water and sewage flowed southward, emptying into the Furu-kawa River to the south of the temple, however this was made into an underground culvert during the Taisho Era.