Selected as one of the Top 100 Ancient & Historical Temples in Japan

Lifelong home of Dokyo Etan (Shoju Rojin), one of the great teachers of Rinzai Buddhism. Born and raised in Iiyama castle, Dokyo Etan first pursued his religious studies in Tokyo. After this training, Dokyo returned to his hometown, taking up residence at the temple constructed for him by the lord of Iiyama. The temple was known as Shojuan for the framed picture of the characters 「正受」 (shoju) given by Dokyo’s teacher, which hung on the temple wall. The currrent main hall is a reconstruction of the original, which was destroyed in the 1847 Zenkoji earthquake. The temple was chosen as a Nagano Prefecture historical landmark in 1960, and has been selected as one of the Top 100 Ancient & Historical Temples in Japan.