Tokyo’s finest wooden ancient architecture
Tokyo is a city with few old wooden buildings, having suffered major earthquakes and fires during wars. However, Gokokuji Temple still has a huge main hall built in 1697. The hall has an area of approximately 826 square meters (8,928 sq ft), making it one of the largest in Tokyo. It has been designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan.
Normally, you can enter between 9:00 and 11:50 and between 13:00 and 16:00. There are many Buddha statues enshrined inside the hall.
The pillars supporting the hall are known as the “Good Fortune Pillars” because they have been listening to sutras for over 300 years. Photography is prohibited inside the hall, but the photo below was specially taken by a monk when I appeared on TV.
Gokokuji Temple also has another hall designated as an Important Cultural Property. This is the Gekkoden Hall, located to the left of the main hall.
The hall was originally located at Nikkoin Temple in Shiga Prefecture and was relocated here. It’s also interesting that the name has changed from Nikko (sunlight) to Gekko (moonlight) in Japanese.
Incidentally, at Kogetsudo, located in front of Gokokuji Temple, they make the Gekkoden Monaka, named after the hall. The elegantly sweet bean paste and tea went perfectly together and were delicious.
Sacred power spots
In addition to the Good Fortune Pillars in the main hall, Gokokuji Temple also has other spots where you can make wishes.
One of them is Otowa Fuji. This mound is modeled after Mount Fuji, and people in the past would climb it to pray. It is about 6 metres (20 ft) tall and can still be climbed today.
The gate halfway along the approach to the temple is called the Furomon Gate. In Japanese, it means immortality.
If you walk to the right from the gate, you will find Ksitigarbha standing there. It is said that if you make a wish to this statue in one word, it will be granted.
Other highlights
There is a beautiful pagoda in the temple grounds.
There is also a large Buddha statue sitting firmly.
There was also a memorial for the elephants.
The cemetery behind the main hall contains the graves of great figures in Japanese history, such as Okuma Shigenobu, Yamagata Aritomo, and Sanjo Sanetomi. There is also the grave of Josiah Conder, who introduced Western architecture to Japan.
