Genshoji Temple (Shitaderamachi, Osaka)

What Kind of Temple Is Genshoji in Shitaderamachi?

Genshoji Temple (源聖寺, Genshō-ji) is a Jodo Shu (Pure Land) Buddhist temple in Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka City; the temple's own chronicle dates its founding to 1596, and its Edo-period main gate and priests' quarters were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan on July 8, 2008.

Its full name is Tōeizan Saigan-in Genshoji. One practical warning: a different temple in Osaka's Abeno Ward, written 源正寺 with another character, is also romanized Genshoji, and its tower gate is a registered property too. When you search a map, look for "Genshoji, Shitaderamachi" to land at the right place. The Agency for Cultural Affairs lists the address as 1-3-1 Shitaderamachi, while the temple itself gives 1-2-25.

Founding Story and the Move to the Temple Quarter

According to Genshoji Temple's chronicle, its founder was Onyo Kako, a monk from the far northeast of Japan who wandered the provinces and finally built a hermitage at Terajima, near present-day Kujo in Osaka's Nishi Ward. He first called it Saiganji. The name Genshoji came later, chosen to show that the temple drew its teaching from Honen (also called Genku), the founder of Jodo Shu. After the Siege of Osaka, when the city's scattered temples were gathered into dedicated temple quarters, Genshoji moved to what was then called Nishi-teramachi. An Osaka City Board of Education note identifies that district with present-day Shitaderamachi.

There is a second account of the founding date. The same city note cites an Edo-period register of Pure Land temples, the Renmon Shoja Kyushi, which places the founding in the Tensho era (1573 to 1592), a little earlier than the temple's own date of 1596. Both accounts rest on named sources, so neither should be taken as settled.

The old main hall, an early Edo building roughly 9 bays square, survived the wartime air raids on Osaka only to be lost to a fire of suspicious origin in 1973. The present main hall was rebuilt in 1990. That leaves the gate on the street and the priests' quarters beside it as the temple's surviving Edo-period buildings.

Inside the main hall stands a wooden standing Jizo, 89.4 centimeters tall, revered since the mid-Edo period as a guardian against fire. Carved from a single block in the 13th century, it was designated a Cultural Property by Osaka City in fiscal 2012. The temple calls it the "Jizo of Light."

The Two Registered Buildings of Genshoji Temple

Genshoji Temple's two buildings were registered on the same day under consecutive numbers, 27-0467 and 27-0468, both as Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building). Both were recognized for their contribution to Japan's historic landscape.

• Priests' Quarters: late Edo period (1751 to 1829). A single-story timber building with a tiled roof and a footprint of 223 square meters. The roof is hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) on the south and plain gable (Kirizuma-zukuri) on the north, topped by a smoke vent.
• Main Gate: final decades of the Edo period (1830 to 1867). A one-bay Yakuimon with an opening of 3.2 meters, flanked by walls fitted with small wicket doors.

The temple notes that both buildings were renovated before registration. The same 2008 round of registrations also took in the gates of neighboring temples on Matsuyamachi-suji, including Shonenji and Manpukuji, so Genshoji's pair belongs to a wider effort to recognize the street front of this temple district.

The Precinct and the Genshoji Slope

Shitaderamachi, read "shita-dera-machi," is the strip of temples that lines Matsuyamachi-suji avenue along the foot of the Uemachi Plateau's western scarp. By the temple's count, some 24 Jodo Shu temples stand almost in a straight line on the east side of the avenue, and Genshoji Temple is the fifth from the north.

The precinct occupies the east side of the avenue, and the Main Gate opens west onto it. Standing at the gate, you see the broad roof of the Priests' Quarters on your left, close to the street, with the main hall at the back of the grounds. Because the Priests' Quarters faces south, its entrance front looks onto the path that leads in from the gate.

The slope that climbs east along the south side of the grounds is Genshoji-zaka, one of the Seven Slopes of Tennoji. Tennoji Ward explains that the name comes from cutting a road through the edge of Genshoji's land to link the low and high ground; the temple likewise says it gave up part of its land for the slope. The path bends partway up and turns into stone steps in the middle. For about 10 meters east of the bottom, the paving reuses stones from the Osaka streetcar lines abolished in 1969. After looking at the gate, walking up the slope takes you along the temple's south wall and onto the plateau.

Getting to Genshoji Temple and Visiting Etiquette

The nearest station to Genshoji Temple is Tanimachi Kyuchome on the Osaka Metro; the temple gives the walk from Exit 3 as 7 minutes. From Nippombashi Station (Kintetsu and Osaka Metro) it is 8 minutes from Exit 8, and from the Shitaderamachi stop of Osaka City Bus route 73 it is 4 minutes. Coming from Tanimachi Kyuchome, you can also arrive by walking down Genshoji-zaka to the temple at its foot.

The temple says the gate is opened by 6:00 a.m. each day, with the inner lattice doors folded back as well, and anyone may walk into the grounds. Closing time varies with the season, but the gate and side door are shut by 7:00 p.m. No admission fee is mentioned. The main hall and other buildings cannot be entered freely, so the registered buildings are viewed from the grounds. If you would like a goshuin stamp or a charm, or wish to request a memorial service, the temple asks you to phone ahead, since the priest is often out.

For drivers, the temple's access page says up to 4 cars can park, while its FAQ mentions 3 spaces in front of the gate and 3 more north of it; on weekends these may be taken by families attending services. Large memorial services are held during the spring and autumn equinox weeks and on August 20, so pick another day if you want a quiet visit.