Denzuin Buddhist Temple in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, is one of the family temples of the successive Tokugawa shoguns.

This temple dates back to 1415.  Odai-no-kata, who was the mother of Tokugawa Ieyasu (the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate), passed away in Kyoto in 1602.  Her body was carried to Edo (present time Tokyo) to cremate in accordance with her will, then the remains were buried in this temple with a magnificent tombstone.  Denzuin was named after the posthumous Buddhist name of Odai-no-kata.  The temple is one of the family temples of the Tokugawa shogun family together with Zojoji Temple in Minato-ku and Kaneiji Temple in Taito-ku, thus many people related to the successive shoguns like the shogun’s mother, daughters and sons dying at an early age are sleeping the final sleep here.  The first photo shows the honden main hall.  The second one is the tombstone of Senhime, a granddaughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu.  She was forced to marry for political reasons with Toyotomi Hideyori, the only one son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who unified Japan before Tokugawa Ieyasu.  When Tokugawa Ieyasu attacked Osaka Castle, Toyotomi Hideyori’s fort and residence, she was rescued by the Tokugawa side.  As a side note, the temple is so well known that it has been the setting for the works of many great writers since the Meiji era (the second half of the 19th century).  Today, many graves of famous people unrelated to the Tokugawa family have also been erected here.

Jason Hardy

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