Ikegami Honmon-ji
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| Ikegami Honmon-ji 池上本門寺 |
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|---|---|
| Information | |
| Denomination: | Nichiren Buddhism |
| Address: | 1-1-1, Ikegami, Ōta-ku Tokyo 146-8576 |
| Country: | Japan |
| Phone: | +81 (03) 3752-2331 |
| Website | |
| Website: | http://honmonji.jp/ |
Ikegami Honmon-ji (池上本門寺?) is a Buddhist temple to the south of Tokyo, erected where Nichiren is said to have died.
A short walk from Ikegami Station (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) or Nishi-Magome Station (Toei Asakusa Line), Ikegami Honmon-ji contains a number of buildings, most of which have been reconstructed after bombing on 15 March 1945. The survivors include the Important Cultural Property designated five-storey pagoda built in 1608, the kyōzō (経蔵, repository of religious writings) built in 1784, and the hōtō (宝塔), built in 1781 where Nichiren was cremated.
Other buildings have been rebuilt, or newly constructed, since 1945.
Now in Ōta-ku, suburban Tokyo, a century ago Ikegami Honmon-ji was a journey from the city. Basil Hall Chamberlain and W. B. Mason then said of it: Its fine situation and magnificent timber make it one of the most attractive points within easy reach of Tōkyō.[1]
The area between the station and the temple hosts a large festival, O-Eshiki (お会式), from the 11th to the 13th of October, with mando (万灯, an elaborate representation of a lantern stand) and matoi; thousands of worshippers and merrymakers visit the temple, or eat and drink, or both.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Basil Hall Chamberlain and W. B. Mason, A Handbook for Travellers in Japan, 8th ed. (London: John Murray, 1907), 138.
