One of the oldest temples in Minato Ward, founded in 824 by Kobo Daishi Kukai as a Shingon training hall. Later, Shinran Shonin visited and it converted to Jodo Shinshu, becoming a base for Shin Buddhism in eastern Japan. In 1859 it became the residence of Townsend Harris, the first American minister to Japan, making it an important site in Japanese-American diplomatic history. The inverted ginkgo…

Zenpukuji is one of the oldest temples in Minato Ward, traditionally said to have been founded in 824 by Kobo Daishi Kukai as a Shingon Buddhist training hall. During the Kamakura period, Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu (Shin Buddhism), is said to have visited the temple and converted it…