is a Shingon Buddhist temple in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Bunkyō is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived th ...

History

This Buddhist temple was established by the fifth shōgun

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...

, who dedicated it to his mother. It is notable for surviving the American air raids during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, whereas most other historical sites in Tokyo were turned into rubble.

Notable interments

Like many Buddhist temples in Japan, Gokoku-ji has a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

on its premises. Among those interred are the remains of the following people. *

Sanjō Sanetomi Prince was a Japanese Imperial court noble and statesman at the time of the Meiji Restoration. He held many high-ranking offices in the Meiji government. Biography Born in Kyoto, Sanjō was the son of ''Naidaijin'' Sanjō Sanetsumu. He hel ...

(1837–1891), the last Daijō Daijin. *

Yamada Akiyoshi Count , was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Chōshū Domain, and one of the early leaders of the Meiji Restoration. In his youth he was commonly known as Yamada Ichinojō; however, he changed his name frequently during the Bakumatsu perio ...

(1844–1892),

Minister of Industry The industry minister is a cabinet position in a government. The title may refer to the head of the governmental department that specializes in industry. This position may also be responsible for trade and employment, areas that fall under the mini ...

(1879-1880),

Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...

(1881-1883) and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

(1883-1891) and Lieutenant General in the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

, and the founder of ''Nihon Law School'' (current

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

) and ''Kokugakuin'' (current

Kokugakuin University Kokugakuin University (國學院大學; ''Kokugakuin Daigaku'', abbreviated as 國學大 ''Kokugakudai'' or 國大 ''Kokudai'') is a private university, whose main office is in Tokyo's Shibuya district. The academic programs and research include ...

). * Josiah Conder (1852–1920), a British architect and

oyatoi gaikokujin The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' (Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: , "hired foreigners"), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in the m ...

. *

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and ...

(1838–1922), the 8th (1898) and 17th (1914–1916)

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

. *

Yamagata Aritomo ''Gensui (Imperial Japanese Army), Gensui'' Prince , also known as Prince Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a senior-ranking Japanese people, Japanese military commander, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and a leading member of the ''genrō'', an � ...

(1838–1922),

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the

and the 3rd (1889–1891) and 9th (1898–1900)

. *

Ōkura Kihachirō was a Japanese people, Japanese entrepreneur who founded the ''Ōkura-gumi'' ''zaibatsu'', which later became the Taisei Corporation, and the ''Ōkura Shōgyō Gakkō'' ("Okura Commerce School") which later became Tokyo Keizai University, Tokyo ...

(1837–1928), an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. *

Dan Takuma was a Japanese businessman who was Director-General of Mitsui, one of the leading Japanese zaibatsu (family conglomerates). He was a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was married to the younger sister of statesman Kaneko Ken ...

(1858–1932), a former Director-General of

Mitsui is one of the largest '' keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world. The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industri ...

(Mitsui Group). *

Seiji Noma was a Japanese writer and publisher who was the founder of Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ' ...

(1878–1938), the founder of

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

. *

Masuda Takashi Baron , was a Japanese industrialist, investor, and art collector. He was a prominent entrepreneur in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan, responsible for transforming Mitsui into a ''zaibatsu'' through the creation of a general t ...

(1848–1938), the founder of Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui Bussan) and ''Chugai-Bukka-Sinpo'' (current

Nihon Keizai Shimbun ''The Nikkei'', also known as , is the flagship publication of Nikkei, Inc. (based in Tokyo) and the world's largest financial newspaper, with a daily circulation exceeding 1.73 million copies. The Nikkei 225, a stock market index for the Tok ...

), and also known as a tea master. * Ikeda Shigeaki (1867–1950), a politician and former governor of the

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. History Like most modern Japanese instituti ...

. * Nakamura Tempū (1876–1968), a martial artist and preacher of

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

to Japan. *

Ōyama Masutatsu , more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. A Zainichi Korean, he spent most of his life living in Japan and acquired Japanese c ...

(1923–1994), a

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

master and the founder of

Kyokushin kaikan is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...

. * Dan Ikuma (1924–2001), a composer. A grandson of Dan Takuma. * Hamuro Mitsuko, concubine of

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

* Hashimoto Natsuko, concubine of

Notes

References

* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du Japon.'' Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 251800045
see also '' Imprimerie Royale de France,''

External links

Gokoku-ji official website
- {{Authority control Buddhist temples in Tokyo Buildings and structures in Bunkyō Shingon Buddhism

History

Notable interments

See also

Notes

References

External links