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Ryugeji Temple (Kanazawa Hakkei) and Tokugawa Ieyasu: Religious Policy Through Vermilion-Seal Land Grants After the Kanto Entry
Ryugeji Temple in Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama, is a head temple of the Omuro branch of Shingon Buddhism. In 1591, Tokugawa Ieyasu reportedly stayed there during a tour of Kanazawa shortly after entering the Kanto region, subsequently granting the temple a five-koku vermilion-seal land holding. While the anecdote of the misreported name 'Ryugenji' remains legendary, the land grant itself is supported by Edo-period temple records and illuminates a facet of Ieyasu's religious control policy.
武
Author
Taketoki
| Samurai History
Contents
MOKUJI
一
The Founding of Ryugeji and Its Pre-History: Under the Patronage of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi Clan
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二
Ieyasu's Overnight Stay in 1591: The Background of the Vermilion-Seal Land Grant
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三
The Religious Order Ieyasu Established in Kanazawa: Ryugeji and Seto Shrine
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四
The Cultural Properties and Historical Value of Ryugeji
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五
Historical Walking in Kanazawa Hakkei: Ryugeji in Context
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六
Summary
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七
Frequently Asked Questions
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Ryugeji Temple, formally known as Chisokusanryugeji, is a head temple of the Omuro branch of Shingon Buddhism located in Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama. According to temple tradition, Tokugawa Ieyasu stayed here in 1591 during a tour of Kanazawa shortly after his entry into the Kanto region, subsequently granting the temple a five-koku (goshuinjo, vermilion-seal land grant) holding. The legendary anecdote of the misreported temple name cannot be confirmed by primary sources, but the land grant itself aligns with Edo-period temple records and sheds light on one facet of Ieyasu’s religious control policy.
Ryugeji Temple, founded in 1499 and granted five koku of land by Tokugawa Ieyasu, a Shingon Omuro-ha temple in Kanazawa
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The Founding of Ryugeji and Its Pre-History: Under the Patronage of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi Clan
Formation Through the Merger of Two Temples
The founding of Ryugeji is traditionally traced to 1499. It was established with Sugano Sukegata, a senior retainer of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan, as its founding patron (kaiki), and Yuben, a disciple of the eminent Shingon priest Inyu, as its founding abbot (kaisan). Rather than being built as a new temple from scratch, Ryugeji came into existence through the merger of two pre-existing temples: Jyoganji Temple in Mutsuura and Kotokuji Temple in Kanazawa. This composite origin reveals the complex character of the institution.
The consolidation of the two temples most naturally reflects the Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan’s political intent to reorganize the religious infrastructure of the region under their control. The practice of warrior governments designating specific temples as family mortuary temples or prayer temples to maintain control over the religious order of a region was a custom that had persisted since the Kamakura period. The emergence of Ryugeji can be positioned as a continuation of that tradition.
The Principal Image and the Early Precinct
Regarding the principal image at the time of founding, the surviving seated statue of Maitreya (Miroku Bosatsu) bearing an inscription dated 1500 confirms that Maitreya veneration formed the core of faith in the early period. The current principal image is Dainichi Nyorai (Mahavairocana), the supreme deity of Shingon esoteric Buddhism.
Ryugeji also houses a dry-lacquer bodhisattva in a half-seated posture (bosatsu hanka-zo) said to date from the Nara period (Tempyo era). The dry-lacquer technique (dakkatsu kanshitsu, forming a sculptural body by laminating hemp cloth with lacquer) was widely employed at major temples in Nara and Kyoto and is extremely rare in the eastern provinces (Kanto). This indicates that the temple accumulated cultural heritage well beyond what one might expect of a regional institution.
Ieyasu’s Overnight Stay in 1591: The Background of the Vermilion-Seal Land Grant
Surveys of Temples and Shrines Immediately After Entering Kanto
Following the Siege of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi consolidated his hegemony and transferred Tokugawa Ieyasu to the Kanto region. Ieyasu chose Edo as his new seat of power, and already by 1591 he is said to have traveled as far as Kanazawa (present-day Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama) and stayed at Ryugeji.
Portrait of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who is said to have lodged at Ryugeji during his 1591 Kanazawa tour and granted it land
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Ieyasu’s tours of various regions at this period should not be understood as mere sightseeing but as political acts aimed at grasping the geographical and religious topography of the Kanto territory newly placed under his control. It is highly probable that the process of incorporating religious institutions into the framework of the emerging Tokugawa order, by granting them goshuinjo land holdings, had already begun at this stage.
The Historical Status of the “Ryugenji” Anecdote
According to temple tradition, when Ieyasu visited Ryugeji, an attendant mistakenly announced the temple’s name as “Ryugenji.” Ieyasu is said to have responded favorably, declaring “How auspicious, the dragon (ryu) emerges from the source (gen)!” and granting the temple a five-koku land holding.
This anecdote cannot be considered a confirmed fact in the sense of being verifiable from primary sources such as original vermilion-seal documents (goshuinjo). Many temple founding legends of the Edo period functioned as narrative devices to legitimize land grants, and this account should be positioned cautiously as a form of such legendary narrative. However, no grounds exist at present to deny the administrative fact of the five-koku land grant, which is consistent with temple land management records.
Ieyasu’s Reverence for Minamoto no Yoritomo and the Warrior Government Legacy
The background of Ieyasu’s tour of Kanazawa likely also involved his veneration of Minamoto no Yoritomo and his aspiration to position himself as the legitimate successor of the warrior government tradition. For a ruler conscious of Yoritomo’s historical model, establishing dominance over eastern Japan from Kamakura, the Kanazawa and Mutsuura area, which had functioned as a port for the Kamakura shogunate, carried symbolic weight. Even if Ryugeji itself had no direct connection with Yoritomo, the possibility that the region as a whole held meaning for Ieyasu as a sacred ground of the warrior tradition cannot be excluded.
The Religious Order Ieyasu Established in Kanazawa: Ryugeji and Seto Shrine
Granting Vermilion-Seal Lands to Both Buddhist and Shinto Institutions
Seto Shrine, the neighboring shrine said to have received a 100-koku grant from Ieyasu during the same Kanazawa tour
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
During the same Kanazawa tour of 1591, Ieyasu is said to have granted Seto Shrine (Seto-jinja) a hundred-koku vermilion-seal holding, in addition to the five koku given to Ryugeji. The disparity between five koku for a temple and a hundred koku for a shrine reflects the difference in religious status and political positioning at the time.
This pattern of granting land to both Buddhist and Shinto institutions illustrates a characteristic feature of Ieyasu’s religious policy. Rather than favoring a particular sect or privileging either Buddhism or Shinto, his intent seems to have been to simultaneously achieve the dispersal and control of religious authority by systematically incorporating influential religious establishments into the Tokugawa order.
The following table summarizes the principal land grants during the Kanazawa tour of 1591.
Facility
Type
Granted Land Holding
Remarks
Ryugeji
Shingon Buddhism
Five koku
Based on tradition; legendary anecdote attached
Seto Shrine
Shinto
One hundred koku
Said to have been granted during the same tour
Edo-Period Maintenance and the Patronage of the Deiki Nagashima Family
Ryugeji, provided with a degree of economic foundation through the land grant, received external support throughout the Edo period from the Deiki Nagashima family (Nagashima of Deiki), wealthy farmers of Kanazawa, who used the temple as their family mortuary temple. The combination of institutional protection from above through the shogunate and human and financial support from below by influential local figures enabled the maintenance and development of the temple precincts.
The Cultural Properties and Historical Value of Ryugeji
The Dry-Lacquer Bodhisattva of the Tempyo Era
The dry-lacquer bodhisattva in the half-seated posture (dakkatsu kanshitsu bosatsu hanka-zo) from the Nara period (Tempyo era), designated as a Kanagawa Prefectural Cultural Property, holds high scholarly value as material evidence of the spread of Buddhist culture in the Kanto region during the Asuka and Nara periods. Whether this statue derives from one of the two predecessor temples or reached this location by another route remains difficult to determine at present.
Shomyoji, the Risshu temple founded by Hojo Sanetoki, on the same Kanazawa Hakkei historical route as Ryugeji
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Kanazawa Ward is home to an accumulation of cultural properties dating from the Kamakura period, including Shomyoji Temple (Shomyoji). Shomyoji was founded by Hojo Sanetoki and is associated with the Hojo clan; the adjacent Kanazawa Bunko (Kanazawa Library) is known as one of the largest warrior libraries in medieval Japan. Situating Ryugeji’s Nara-period sculpture within this density of cultural heritage allows Kanazawa Hakkei to be understood not merely as a scenic spot but as a historical stratum extending from antiquity through the medieval and early modern periods.
Summary of Cultural Properties
The major cultural properties currently preserved at Ryugeji are summarized below.
Property Name
Period
Designation
Remarks
Bodhisattva in half-seated posture (dry-lacquer)
Nara period (Tempyo era)
Kanagawa Prefecture Designated Cultural Property
Rare technique in eastern Japan
Seated Maitreya (Miroku Bosatsu)
Inscribed 1500
—
Original principal image; evidence of founding-era faith
Temple Bell (bonsho)
Edo period (details unconfirmed)
Kanagawa Prefecture Designated Cultural Property
Ryugeji Shogyo (4,686 items)
Medieval to early modern
Yokohama City Designated Tangible Cultural Property
Esoteric Buddhist texts and documents
The Significance of the 4,686 Shogyo Documents
The 4,686-item Ryugeji Shogyo, designated as a Yokohama City Tangible Cultural Property, constitutes a corpus of Shingon esoteric Buddhist scriptures, ritual manuals, and historical documents. The survival of a shogyo collection of this scale at a regional temple is uncommon and stands as evidence that Ryugeji continued to function substantively as an esoteric Buddhist institution from the medieval through the early modern period. Systematic scholarly investigation and publication of this collection would make a significant contribution to research on the regional development of Shingon Buddhism in the Kanto region.
Historical Walking in Kanazawa Hakkei: Ryugeji in Context
A Cluster of Adjacent Historical Sites
Wooden statue of Minamoto no Yoritomo, founding figure of warrior rule revered by Ieyasu; Kanazawa served as a port of the Kamakura shogunate
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Ryugeji Temple (Kanazawa Hakkei) is located approximately seven minutes on foot from Keikyu Kanazawa-Hakkei Station. Seto Shrine, Biwa-jima Shrine, Shomyoji Temple, and Kanazawa Bunko are concentrated in the surrounding area, and the historical walking route connecting these sites constitutes a rare space in which the religious and political traces of each era from antiquity to the early modern period can be confirmed in a single visit.
The combination of Seto Shrine, revered by Minamoto no Yoritomo; Shomyoji Temple and Kanazawa Bunko, nurtured by the Hojo clan; and Ryugeji, which received Ieyasu’s land grant, demonstrates concretely that the transition of power from the Kamakura warrior government to the Tokugawa shogunate left specific traces in the religious landscape of this region. To fully understand Tokugawa Ieyasu, it is necessary to take into account not only Edo but also the network of goshuinjo land grants distributed across the Kanto region.
Access and Visiting
The most rational approach to visiting Ryugeji is to begin at Keikyu Kanazawa-Hakkei Station. Taking the route via Seto Shrine (5 minutes’ walk) to Ryugeji (7 minutes’ walk) and then proceeding on foot to Shomyoji Temple (approximately 15 minutes) and Kanazawa Bunko (adjacent to Shomyoji) allows one to cover the core historical sites of Kanazawa Ward in half a day.
Summary
Points for Visiting
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The main hall of Ryugeji is often closed to general visitors; it is advisable to confirm visiting conditions in advance
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The Nara-period dry-lacquer bodhisattva can be viewed during special public opening periods; checking the schedule in advance is recommended
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Traces of Ieyasu’s land grant can be confirmed through notices and founding legends displayed within the temple precincts; reading these with an awareness of the distinction between tradition and verified history brings one closer to the reality of early modern religious administration
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Combined visits to Seto Shrine and Shomyoji Temple are strongly recommended, as comparing the respective land grants and shrine holdings allows the overall structure of Ieyasu’s religious policy to come into focus
List of Related Spots
Spots relevant to tracing the history associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Kanazawa Hakkei area are listed below.
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Ryugeji Temple (Kanazawa Hakkei), head temple with tradition of Ieyasu’s overnight stay and the five-koku land grant
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Seto Shrine, shrine said to have received a hundred-koku land grant during the same Kanazawa tour
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Shomyoji Temple, temple founded by Hojo Sanetoki; with Kanazawa Bunko adjacent, it preserves the legacy of Kamakura warrior culture
Pilgrimage Proposal
Beginning at Kanazawa-Hakkei Station and proceeding on foot through Seto Shrine (5 minutes), Ryugeji (7 minutes), Shomyoji Temple (15 minutes), and Kanazawa Bunko (adjacent to Shomyoji) constitutes a half-day “Ieyasu and the Warrior Government Goshuinjo Circuit” with minimal travel and high historical density. The total visit time including tours of each site is approximately three to four hours, making it well suited for a day trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Ryugeji Temple founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu?
Ryugeji was founded in 1499, with Sugano Sukegata, a senior retainer of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan, as its founding patron. Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in 1542, making any involvement by Ieyasu in the founding chronologically impossible. Ieyasu’s connection to the temple is limited to the tradition of his overnight stay and land grant in 1591. Care should be taken not to confuse the founding patron with a later benefactor.
Has the anecdote of the misreported name “Ryugenji” been confirmed as historical fact?
This anecdote is a passage from the founding legend (engi) transmitted at Ryugeji, and no primary source material has been identified at present to verify the attribution of the words “how auspicious” to Ieyasu. Temple founding legends of the Edo period frequently contain narratives linking the granting of land holdings to honorable anecdotes, and it is appropriate to treat this account as remaining within the domain of tradition. However, the administrative fact of the five-koku land grant itself is not inconsistent with temple land management records.
When can the Nara-period dry-lacquer bodhisattva be viewed?
This statue is a Kanagawa Prefecture Designated Cultural Property and is normally not on public display. For information on special public opening opportunities, it is recommended to contact Ryugeji directly or consult cultural property information from Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama. Given its rarity as a Tempyo-era artifact surviving in eastern Japan, this is a particularly valuable opportunity for those interested in Buddhist sculpture and art history.
What is the nearest station and how can I get to Ryugeji?
Ryugeji is approximately seven minutes on foot from Keikyu Kanazawa-Hakkei Station (Keikyu Main Line / Zushi Line). If visiting by car, it is advisable to confirm parking availability with the temple in advance. As Shomyoji Temple, Seto Shrine, and Kanazawa Bunko are all within walking distance in the Kanazawa Hakkei area, visiting by public transportation is recommended for convenience.
Last updated: May 22, 2026
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武
Author
Taketoki（たけとき）
Samurai History
Toku editorial team — samurai history. Insists on primary sources and castle-layout diagrams, walking battlefields from Yoritomo's Izu exile sites to the late-Edo battlegrounds.
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Key Figures
T
Tokugawa Ieyasu
First Shogun of Edo
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M
Minamoto no Yoritomo
First Shogun of Kamakura
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H
Hojo Sanetoki
Founder of Kanazawa Bunko
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