Soun-ji

神奈川県

Family temple of five Hojo generations, founded in 1521 by Ujitsuna for his father Soun — the nationally designated garden and five lords' graves stand in Hakone-Yumoto

Founded

1521

Type

Temple

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405 Yumoto, Hakone, Kanagawa

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Info

Temple

Founded 1521

505 years

Overview

A Rinzai Daitoku-ji school temple in Hakone-Yumoto, serving as the family temple of five generations of Hojo. Founded in 1521 by Hojo Ujitsuna to pray for his father Soun's spirit. The grounds house graves of five Hojo generations: Soun, Ujitsuna, Ujiyasu, Ujimasa, and Ujinao. The dry landscape garden is beautiful enough to be designated a national scenic site. The main hall also contains the grav…

Origins

Soun-ji was founded in 1521 by Hojo Ujitsuna to pray for his father Hojo Soun's spirit. The founding priest was Zen Master Iten Sosei of Kyoto's Daitoku-ji, belonging to the Rinzai Daitoku-ji school. Revered as a family temple across five Hojo generations, the temple greatly prospered. During the 15…

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Festivals & Events
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8月

Sounji Segaki Service

The Segaki service at Sounji, founded by Hojo Soun and the family temple of five generations of the Hojo clan. This renowned Rinzai temple in Hakone-Yumoto holds Obon rites to console the spirits of the Hojo family, a solemn ceremony with over 500 years of history at this Sengoku lord's family temple.

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Related Articles
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記

Sounji in Hakone: Mausoleum of the Hojo Five Generations

Sounji in Hakone, founded in 1521, is the mausoleum of the Hojo Five Generations (Soun, Ujitsuna, Ujiyasu, Ujimasa, Ujinao). A Rinzai Zen temple of the Daitokuji line where 100 years of warring-states history sleep beneath stone pagodas.

architecture

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Hojo Soun (Ise Soun): Reality of the Sengoku Era's Pioneer

Hojo Soun (1432?-1519) opened the Sengoku era. Once portrayed as a "ronin who rose by force," modern scholarship reveals him as a Muromachi shogunate official from the prestigious Ise clan — a sophisticated statesman who reorganized eastern Japan with low taxation and ethical governance.

era

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Odawara Castle: Hojo Stronghold and Surviving Sogamae Defenses

Odawara Castle was the seat of the Hojo Five Generations for a century. At its peak it was Japan's largest fortified city, with a 9-km defensive perimeter (Sogamae). After the 1590 fall to Hideyoshi, it became a Tokaido-station town. Today the rebuilt keep and surviving Sogamae traces preserve this history.

architecture

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もっと詳しく · 5

史
Related Historical Events
— 1

1495

北条早雲の小田原城奪取

1495年、伊勢宗瑞（北条早雲）が相模国小田原（現在の神奈川県小田原市）の大森氏を滅ぼして小田原城を奪取した事件。早雲は「鹿狩り」を口実に大勢の供を連れて城下に入り込み、夜陰に乗じて火牛の計を用いて大森氏の守備を崩したとされる。小田原城を拠点に相模一国を支配した早雲は、戦国大名の原型として後世に高く評価される。素浪人から戦国大名に成り上がったという早雲の生涯（実際には今川氏との関係が深い官僚出身）は「下克上」の象徴として語られてきた。後北条氏百年の繁栄の礎となった歴史的事件。