Renkōji Temple

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Renkōji Temple is a Buddhist temple in Tokyo prefecture, Japan. It is the purported location of the ashes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian freedom-fighter, which have been preserved since September 18, 1945.^[1]

The small, well-preserved temple was established in 1594 inspired by the God of Wealth and Happiness. It belongs to the Nichiren sect of Buddhism that believes that human salvation lies only in the Lotus Sutra.

The ashes of Subhas Chandra Bose came to the temple for the purpose of a funeral ceremony but Rev. Mochizuki, father of the present chief priest, agreed to keep them in safe custody. Netaji’s associates observe his death anniversary on August 18 at the temple every year. Over the years, several Indian officials have visited Renkoji to pay their respects to Subhas Chandra Bose: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the first dignitary to visit the site in October, 1957. President Dr. Rajendra Prasad followed him a year later, and Indira Gandhi made her trip in 1969. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India, first visited the temple during his term as Foreign Minister. He later visited it during his official visit to Japan on December 9, 2001. In 2000, the then Indian Minister of External Affairs, Jaswant Singh, visited the temple in November.