Kanei-ji Temple, together with Zojo-ji Temple in Shiba, is the Tokugawa Shogun's family temple. Konpon-chudo Main Hall was built in 1698, long after the founding of this great temple in 1625. This hall originally stood at the place where a large fountain in Ueno Park is found near the National Museum, however it was reduced to ashes in the fire caused by a civil war between the Shogun's force and Emperor's allied forces in 1868. Long after the total destruction, the main hall of Kita-in Temple in Kawagoe City, outskirts of Tokyo, was relocated to the present place to be renamed New Konpon-chudo Main Hall of Kanei-ji Temple. Compared with the original one, the present main hall in the picture is considerably small.
Licensed tour guide, travel consultant,
Masahisa Takaki.
