Five-story Pagoda of Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple

is a temple of the

Nichiren Shū Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of ...

south of

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 ...

, erected where

Nichiren Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of B ...

is said to have died. Also Nichiren's disciple Nikkō spent the rest of his life at this temple. The temple grounds also include Nichiren Shū's administrative headquarters. A short walk from

Ikegami Station is a Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway Ikegami Line station in Ōta, Tokyo. It is close to Ikegami Honmon-ji. Station layout Two ground-level side platforms. Bus service * bus stop **Tokyu Bus Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of ...

(

Tōkyū Ikegami Line The is a railway line operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation. It runs through Tokyo, extending from Gotanda Station in Shinagawa to Kamata Station in Ōta. New three-car 7000 series EMUs were introduced in December 2007, ...

) or Nishi-Magome Station (

Toei Asakusa Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Toei Subway. The line runs between in Ōta and in Sumida. The line is named after the Asakusa district, a cultural center of Tokyo, under which it passes. The Asak ...

), Ikegami Honmon-ji contains a number of buildings, most of which have been reconstructed since the bombing of 15 March 1945. They include the Important Cultural Property designated five-storey

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

built in 1608, the ''

kyōzō in Japanese Buddhist architecture is a repository for sūtras and chronicles of the temple history. It is also called , , or . In ancient times the ''kyōzō'' was placed opposite the belfry on the east–west axis of the temple. The earliest ex ...

'' (, repository of religious writings) built in 1784, and the ''

hōtō is a noodle soup and popular regional dish originating from Yamanashi, Japan made by stewing flat udon noodles and vegetables in miso soup. Though ''hōtō'' is commonly recognized as a variant of ''udon'', locals do not consider it to be a ...

'' (), built in 1781 where Nichiren was cremated. Other buildings have been rebuilt, or newly constructed, since 1945. Now in Ōta-ku, suburban Tokyo, Ikegami Honmon-ji was at some distance from the city until the mid-20th century.

Basil Hall Chamberlain Basil Hall Chamberlain (18 October 1850 – 15 February 1935) was a British academic and Japanologist. He was a professor of the Japanese language at Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during th ...

and W. B. Mason wrote of it in 1907: "Its fine situation and magnificent timber make it one of the most attractive points within easy reach of Tōkyō."Basil Hall Chamberlain and W. B. Mason, ''A Handbook for Travellers in Japan,'' 8th ed. (London: John Murray, 1907), 138. The area between the station and the temple hosts a large festival, O-Eshiki (), from 11 to 13 October, with ''mandō'' (, an elaborate representation of a lantern stand) and ''

matoi A was a flag used in Edo period Japan by to notify people of a fire near or within a building. It was taken up on a roof near the burning building by the and waved to draw the attention of other groups of firefighters, who would then hurry to ...

''; thousands of worshippers visit the temple.

Notes

External links

Ikegami Honmon-ji history and description
150 worshippers playing hand drums simultaneously while chanting Nammyo Horen Geikyo from

The Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Sinking of the

. {{Authority control Buddhist temples in Tokyo Nichiren-shū temples Ōta, Tokyo

See also

Notes

External links