Kan'ei-ji Temple
Back : Find on a modern map Back : Find on a detailed map of Edo Back : Taito-ku Back : Shitaya ezu Back : Hongo Yushima ezu
- Formal Name
- Toeizan Kan'ei-ji
- Current Address
- Taito-ku, Uenokoen / Uenosakuragi
- Description
- A temple of the Tendai Buddhist Sect. Founded in 1625. The temple was named Kan'ei in connection with the era in which it was constructed. The sango (honorific mountain name prefixed to a temple's name) is Toeizan (Meaning eastern Mt. Hiei) and the ingo (a title given to a Buddhist temple) is Endon'in. The monk Tenkai, who built the Toshogu Shrine at Mt. Nikko, was granted land in Edo Shinobugaoka by the Shogunate government where he constructed the temple with the name Toeizan being transferred from Toeizan Kitain Shrine in Kawagoe, Musashi Province. Thereafter, the Toshogu Shrine, which enshrined Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Kiyomizu Kannondo Temple which imitated the Kyoto Kiyomizu-dera Temple, were constructed, flourishing under the protection of the Shogunate government. The area was also successful as a site for pleasure trips as well as a famous spot for cherry blossoms. This began with the transplant of cherry blossoms from Yoshino by Tenkai who loved cherry blossoms. In 1868, the area became a battlefield between Shogitai (anti-government group) and government forces, and most of the temples were burnt to ashes. This area is present day Ueno Park.
 |
