Tsukiji Hongan-ji

Tsukiji Hongan-ji (築地本願寺), sometimes archaically romanized Hongwan-ji, is a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple located in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo, Japan.

The temple is adjacent to Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line.

History

Tsukiji Hongan-ji's predecessor was the temple of Edo-Asakusa Gobo (江戸浅草御坊), built in Asakusa in 1617 at the behest of the 12th monshu, Junnyo Shōnin.

The temple burned during a city-wide fire in 1657, and the shogunate refused to allow it to be rebuilt in Asakusa due to a prior project there. Instead, the temple was moved to a new parcel of land being reclaimed by the Sumida River—today's Tsukiji. This land was said to have been reclaimed by Jodo Shinshu followers themselves who lived at nearby Tsukudajima. The name Tsukiji comes from the kanji characters meaning "reclaimed land". This new temple, named Tsukiji Gobo (築地御坊), stood until it was leveled by the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923.

The present Tsukiji Hongan-ji was designed by Itō Chūta of the University of Tokyo and built between 1931 and 1934. It is noted for its unique architecture, influenced by temples in South Asia.

Tsukiji

Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, the site of the Tsukiji fish market. Literally meaning "reclaimed land," it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century, during the Edo period.

There are also districts named Tsukiji in Kobe and Amagasaki, cities in Hyōgo Prefecture, although neither is as well known as Tokyo's.

History

Tsukiji is built on reclaimed land out of what were once lowland marshes along the Sumida River delta. Throughout the Tokugawa period, earth from the shogunate's extensive moat and canal excavations was systematically used to fill in the marshes along the river, creating new commercial districts and waterfront housing.

The Great Fire of Meireki of 1657 destroyed over two-thirds of Edo's buildings, including Hongan-ji temple in Asakusa, the enormous Kantō headquarters of the Jōdo Shinshū sect. As a result, the temple site was relocated to Tsukiji, where many of the residents of nearby Tsukudajima were instrumental in its reconstruction. A number of other temples were also erected on what is now the outer marketplace. In addition, many private residences for samurai and feudal lords were constructed along the southern edge of Tsukiji.