Saishō-ji Temple: A Tendai Buddhist Temple in Tokyo
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Japan
- Primary era
- Unclassified
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Unclassified
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Temple
On this page9 sections
History
Saishō-ji Temple is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Hirai, Edogawa City, Tokyo, Japan, established in 877 within a religious tradition that began beside the Sumida River in 860. Its formal name is Gohōzan Myōō-in Saishō-ji, and it is associated with the Yellow-Eyed Fudō.
Ninth-century foundation
Temple tradition connects the site’s origins with Ennin, a ninth-century Japanese Buddhist monk and a major figure in the Tendai school. In 860, he is said to have founded an initial religious center beside the Sumida River in what is now Higashi-Komagata, Sumida. In 877, Ryōhon, Ennin’s senior disciple, established Saishō-ji at that location.
Connection with Ushijima Shrine
During the early-modern period, Saishō-ji served as the administrative temple of Ushijima Shrine in Mukōjima. Such an institution, known in Japanese as a bettō, managed a shrine’s religious affairs before Buddhism and Shinto were formally separated in the Meiji period. Ushijima Shrine itself was traditionally regarded as having been founded by Ennin in 860.
The Meiji-era separation of Buddhism and Shinto ended Saishō-ji’s administrative role at the shrine. At that time, the Dainichi Buddha image that had represented Buddhism at Ushijima Shrine was transferred to Saishō-ji. Dainichi Buddha, or Mahavairocana, is a central cosmic Buddha in esoteric Buddhism.
Relocation and pilgrimage traditions
In 1912, land readjustment connected with the construction of Komagata Bridge led to the temple’s move from its former site in Honjo Omotechō to Shimohirai in Minami-Katsushika, in the area it occupies today.
Saishō-ji is associated with the Edo Five-Colored Fudō pilgrimage and is number 19 on the Kantō Thirty-Six Fudō pilgrimage. Its principal image is Shaka Buddha, the historical Buddha. The temple also preserves the Yellow-Eyed Fudō image, which is registered as an Edogawa cultural property.
Remains
The physical features described at Saishō-ji center on its preserved Buddhist images and their religious associations. The temple is identified by the mountain name Gohōzan and the institutional name Myōō-in, while its collection of images reflects both its own Tendai identity and its former connection with Ushijima Shrine.
Religious images
Shaka Buddha
Shaka Buddha serves as Saishō-ji’s principal image. Shaka is the Japanese name for Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, and the image occupies the central devotional place within the temple’s religious identity.
Yellow-Eyed Fudō
A wooden seated image of Fudō Myōō is preserved at the temple. Fudō Myōō is the Buddhist deity Acala, a stern guardian associated with destroying obstacles and protecting Buddhist teaching. The image’s right eye is opened wide, traditionally understood as refusing to tolerate wrongdoing, while its half-closed left eye expresses compassion. It is also known as the Yellow-Eyed Fudō and is registered as an Edogawa cultural property.
Transferred Dainichi Buddha
The temple also preserves the Dainichi Buddha image transferred from Ushijima Shrine after the Meiji-era separation of Buddhism and Shinto. Its presence connects a surviving religious object with the period when Saishō-ji administered the shrine’s Buddhist affairs.
