A sub-temple of Daitokuji built in 1608 by Matsu (Hoshunin), the principal wife of Maeda Toshiie, as the family temple of the Kaga Maeda clan. Matsu took the tonsure under the name Hoshunin, and the temple bears her Buddhist name. The two-story pavilion Donkokaku is counted among the 'Four Pavilions of Kyoto' alongside Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and Hiunkaku — its name, meaning 'the pavilion that swallows …

Hoshunin was founded in 1608 by Matsu, the principal wife of Maeda Toshiie, the progenitor of the Kaga domain, as a sub-temple of Daitokuji to pray for her late husband's repose. Maeda Toshiie had died in 1599, and Matsu subsequently endured a turbulent life, including a period as a hostage in Edo. …