Sesonji Temple

Sesonji Temple: the first Nichiren training hall on Sado

Sesonji Temple (世尊寺, Sesonji) is a Nichiren Buddhist temple in the Takeda district of Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, founded by tradition in 1273, and six buildings in its precinct became Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006.

The precinct backs onto the foot of a hill on its southwest side. The Front Gate opens onto the road at the north corner. Walk in along the approach and you pass the Household Goods Storehouse near the centre, then the Red Gate toward the south, with the Main Hall behind it facing east. A corridor runs out of the hall's northwest corner to the Shoin, and the small Treasure House sits on raised ground at the southern edge. The oldest of the six, the Red Gate, is dated to the middle Edo period; the newest, the Main Hall, was completed in 1907. Gates, storehouses and halls spanning more than 150 years share one compact site.

The Kokufu River and the move to Takeda

According to Sado City, Sesonji Temple began as the first Nichiren training hall on the island, with Nikkō, one of Nichiren's senior disciples, honoured as its founding priest. It was opened on the banks of the Kokufu River in 1273 and moved to its present site at Takeda in 1582. The founding falls within the years Nichiren himself spent in exile on Sado.

A second story is layered over the first. Endō Morikuni, a member of the imperial guard who had crossed to Sado escorting the exiled Emperor Juntoku, is said to have met Nichiren later, converted, and opened the hall with Nikkō as its founder. Sado's tourism guides tell the story. It is temple tradition, not something contemporary records confirm.

Daikokuten and the satsuki garden

Sesonji Temple is one of the Sado Seven Lucky Gods temples, the stop for Daikokuten, the god of prosperity. Among its treasures is a hanging scroll of Daikokuten said to be by Nichiren, painted, so the story goes, on the beach at Shibute as he left Sado after his pardon. The image pilgrims face today, the Shibute Daikoku, was donated by the painter Mahori Hōgen Yoshitaka.

The temple garden is known for its satsuki azaleas. Come in early summer and the registered buildings are seen with the garden in flower.

Walking the precinct of Sesonji Temple

You enter Sesonji Temple through the Front Gate at the north corner, a single-bay bracket-arm gate (udegimon) on the roadside whose heavy posts give the entrance its weight. Along the approach beyond it once stood a thatched Nagayamon, a two-storey gatehouse 13.5 m long. It was registered with the others, but its registration was withdrawn on 14 September 2016.

Further in, the Household Goods Storehouse stands beside the path to the Shoin, near the middle of the precinct, its white plastered front turned toward you. Continue south to the Red Gate; the Main Hall waits behind it facing east, set against the hillside in the southwest corner, with a corridor leaving its northwest corner for the Shoin. The Treasure House stands apart on higher ground at the southern end.

The six buildings lie close together around the Main Hall and can be seen in a short walk. Read together, their dates describe a precinct where Edo-period gates and storehouses survived and a Main Hall and Shoin were raised in the late Meiji period.

Six buildings registered on one day

The Main Hall, Shoin, Front Gate, Red Gate, Treasure House and Household Goods Storehouse of Sesonji Temple became Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 18 October 2006. Their registration numbers are 15-0208 through 15-0214; the missing 15-0211 was the gatehouse whose registration was later withdrawn.

All six were registered under the same criterion, contribution to the historic landscape of the country. It looks less at the finish of any single building than at the scene they make together: a gate on the road, a storehouse beside the path, a red gate framing a large hall. What sets each one apart is covered on its own page.

Getting to Sesonji Temple

Sesonji Temple lies inland on Sado Island, so once across you need a car or a bus. Ryōtsu Port, where ferries and jetfoils from Niigata arrive, is about 30 minutes away by car. By bus, get off at the Takedabashi stop, served by the Minami, Kuninaka and Kanamaru lines, and walk about 20 minutes.

There is parking for 10 cars. Buses are not frequent, so check the return times before you set off on foot.

Visiting and photography at Sesonji Temple

Sesonji Temple publishes no visiting hours or admission fee. The grounds can be walked from the approach, but the interiors of the Main Hall and Shoin are used for services and temple business, and no conditions for viewing them are announced. If you hope to see inside, or are coming as a group on the Seven Lucky Gods route, contact the temple in advance (tel. 0259-55-2262).

The temple gives no guidance on photography either. The exteriors can be photographed from the grounds; ask the temple first before taking pictures indoors or during a service.