Eisho-ji (英勝寺) is a

Jōdo-shū , also known as Jōdo Buddhism, is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Hōnen. It was established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shi ...

temple in Ogigayatsu,

Kamakura, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

, Japan, and is the sole nunnery in Kamakura. The mountain name is Tokozan.

Okaji no Kata (December 7, 1578September 17, 1642) or Lady Okaji, was a Japanese noble lady and aristocrat who lived during the Sengoku period and at the beginning of Edo period. She was the founder of Eishō-ji temple in Kamakura and was also a concubine of T ...

, a concubine of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

, took the name Eishoin after her pabbajja and founded the temple. The temple is thought to be located at the site of the residence of Ōta Dōkan, who was ancestor of the found. Okaji no Kata bore Ieyasu a daughter, Ichihime, but she died very young. After Ichihime's death, Ieyasu ordered Okaji no Kata to become the adoptive mother of Tokugawa Yorifusa, who later reigned over

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the practice of obtaining priestesses from the Mito Domain was discontinued and influence of the temple waned. During the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

, the temple gate was damaged but volunteers eventually rebuilt it on the original cornerstone, with the completion ceremony being held on May 16, 2011. The temple is the 6th temple of Togoku Hananotera 100 kaji located in Kamakura.Omaru Shunyū, Eishō-ji, 1973 ''Tōkōzan Eishō-ji Goyōdome''

References

External links

Eisho-ji Sanmon Fukkou Yobikake

Eisho-ji introduction at JODO SHU site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisho-ji Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa