Eijuji Temple

Eijuji Temple at a Glance

Eijuji Temple (永住寺) is a Soto Zen temple in Urano, Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture; its main hall, founder's and memorial tablet hall, kuri and shoin, meditation hall, monks' hall and sutra repository were registered on December 5, 2019, and its gate and guardian shrine on February 27, 2023, each as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Its mountain name is Enmeizan and its principal image is Shaka Nyorai.

According to Shinshiro City, the temple was founded in 1513 at Kamihirai by Suganuma Sadahiro, lord of Otani Castle, burned in Takeda Shingen's attack during the battle of Noda Castle in 1573, and is said to have been rebuilt on its present site in 1574 by Okudaira Sadayoshi, lord of Kameyama Castle. From 1648, when the bannerman Suganuma Sadazane became lord of the area, it was supported by the Suganuma family until the end of the Edo period.

A Complete Soto Zen Monastery

Shinshiro City explains that in the Edo period higher-ranking provincial Soto temples held formal training retreats for monks and so needed a full set of buildings: main hall, kitchen, meditation hall, monks' hall and gate. The Tokai region has many Soto temples, but few major ones keep such a set intact, and Eijuji's buildings are also well preserved.

The layout places the gate at the south end of the central axis of a long north-south site; beyond it lies a broad forecourt with the main hall facing south at the back. The kuri and shoin stand on the east of the forecourt, and the monks' hall, meditation hall and guardian shrine on the west, so the buildings enclose the court. The founder's and memorial tablet hall continues north of the main hall, and the small sutra repository stands north of the shoin (Shinshiro City). There are no east-west corridors, but passages inside the main hall and kitchen are thought to have served that role.

The Eight Registered Buildings

The main hall dates from 1697 and was altered in 1717; the meditation hall and monks' hall from 1722; the gate from 1794; the kuri and shoin from 1810; the sutra repository from the late Edo period; the founder's and memorial tablet hall from 1893; and the guardian shrine from 1926 (Agency for Cultural Affairs and Shinshiro City).

A monastery assembled over some 230 years, from the early Edo to the Taisho period, survives in its original arrangement around the forecourt.

Visiting

No official information was found on visiting the temple buildings, so ask the temple in advance. Enquiries about the cultural properties go to the history and culture division of Shinshiro City's education department (0536-23-7610).