Jikoji is an ancient Soto Zen temple in Masugata, Gosen City. Its approach is lined with towering cryptomeria cedars hundreds of years old, creating a solemn, otherworldly atmosphere celebrated as the finest cedar-lined avenue in Echigo. The temple is said to have been founded by the monk Gyoki in the Nara period, and has a long history as a center of mountain Buddhism in Echigo. Important cultura…

An ancient temple said to have been founded by Gyoki in the Nara period. During the Heian and Kamakura periods it flourished as a center of mountain Buddhism in Echigo. It converted to the Soto Zen sect in the Muromachi period and received the protection of the shogunate during the Edo period. The c…