Gokoku-ji
東京都
Founded in 1681 by Shogun Tsunayoshi for his mother Keishōin — the 1697 Kannon-dō hall that survived the WWII air raids is one of Tokyo's rarest intact Edo structures, designated a National Important Cultural Property
Founded
1681
Type
Temple
Visited
Want to go
Access
1 min on foot from Gokoku-ji Station (Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line)
5-40-1 Ōtsuka, Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo
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Info
Temple
Founded 1681
345 years
Enshrined Deity
如意輪観世音菩薩（天然琥珀製
桂昌院念持仏）
Founder
Fifth Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (at the wish of his mother Keishōin)
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Buddhist Sect
Shingon Buzan-ha (head temple)
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Overview
Gokoku-ji is the head temple of the Shingon Buzan-ha sect, formally Shinreizan Shitchi-in Daishō Gokoku-ji, located in Ōtsuka, Bunkyō Ward, Tokyo. Founded in 1681 (Tenwa 1) by the fifth Tokugawa shogun Tsunayoshi at the wish of his mother Keishōin as a Shogunal prayer temple, the principal image is a seated Nyoirin Kannon carved from natural amber that served as Keishōin's personal devotional imag…
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Origins
Gokoku-ji was founded in 1681 (Tenwa 1) when the fifth Tokugawa shogun Tsunayoshi, at the wish of his mother Keishōin, established Shinreizan Shitchi-in Daishō Gokoku-ji with Ryōken Sōjō—Keishōin's revered Buddhist teacher—as the founding abbot. The principal image is a seated Nyoirin Kannon carved …
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Divine Benefits
Safe Childbirth & Fertility
Purification
Career Advancement
Safe delivery, conception, child protection. Traditions tied to Empress Jingu, Konohanasakuya-hime, Suitengu, and Kishimojin.
人Related Figures— 3
人
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
Dog Shōgun
Age 35 at founding
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Founded in 1681 (Tenwa 1) by the fifth Tokugawa shogun Tsunayoshi at the wish of his mother Keishōin as a Shogunal prayer temple, the principal image is a seated Nyoirin Kannon carved from natural amber that served as Keishōin's personal devotional image.
Okuma Shigenobu
Founder of Waseda University, Two-Time Prime Minister
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Ōkuma Shigenobu (1838-1922), Meiji statesman, prime minister, and founder of Waseda University, was given a state funeral at Hibiya Park in 1922 and interred at Gokoku-ji cemetery. His grave on the temple grounds has become a sacred site for Waseda alumni and liberal intellectuals; an annual memorial visit is held on the anniversary of his death (January 10). Per his wishes, the gravestone itself is austere, but the spacious plot and steady stream of visitors set it apart.
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