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Zenpukuji and Izu no Chohachi: The Master Plasterer's Kote-e Reliefs Beneath the Eaves

Zenpukuji in Kita-Shinagawa, founded in 1294, preserves beneath its main hall eaves the kote-e plaster reliefs of Irie Chohachi (Izu no Chohachi), a master plasterer of the late Edo period — dragons and sacred birds sculpted in lime plaster that survived earthquake and war.

Zenpukuji in Kita-Shinagawa, Tokyo, founded in 1294 as a Ji-shu temple by Ta-a Shinkyo (disciple of Ippen), preserves beneath the eaves of its main hall the kote-e of Irie Chohachi (1815-1889), known as “Izu no Chohachi,” one of the greatest plasterers of late-Edo Japan. Kote-e are relief pictures built up in lime plaster and shaped with a plasterer’s trowel — here, dragons, Chinese lions, chrysanthemums, and a sacred bird, sculpted three-dimensionally in plaster alone. Much of Chohachi’s work was lost in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and wartime fires, making these weathered survivors precious. The temple sits in the old Tokaido post town of Shinagawa, a four-minute walk from Keikyu Kita-Shinagawa Station, and pairs well with nearby Toshida (Kagata) Shrine, Tokaiji, Shinagawa Shrine, and Ebara Shrine. Last updated: June 5, 2026.

The gate and main hall of Zenpukuji, set back in a lane of the old Tokaido post town of Shinagawa

The main hall of Zenpukuji bearing the Onkyozan plaque, with Chohachi's kote-e beneath the eaves

A writhing dragon kote-e beneath the eaves, sculpted in lime plaster by Irie Chohachi

A winged sacred bird and swirling clouds in plaster relief, weathered yet enduring

Irie Chohachi (Izu no Chohachi, 1815-1889), the master plasterer who raised kote-e to an art

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

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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.