Zojoji Temple

Tokyo

Shrines & Temples

# Temple

# Art

# Shogun

# Tokugawa Ieyasu

# Important Cultural Property

# Drama / Movie

The Hondo (Main Hall) of Zojo-ji Temple, featuring traditional architecture, set against a bright blue sky with the modern Tokyo Tower rising dramatically in the background.

The towering red and black Sangedatsu-mon Gate (Main Gate) of Zojo-ji Temple, standing over a busy city street intersection.

Key Points

Zojoji Temple was founded in 1393. When Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Edo in 1590, it was designated as the Tokugawa family’s ancestral temple. In 1598, it relocated to its present site during the construction of Edo Castle, and new temple buildings were erected
You can pass through the massive Sangedatsumon gate, the only surviving structure dating from 1622 (Due to ongoing construction, only one entrance at the front is currently accessible)
A meticulously crafted 1/10 scale model of the buildings that once stood at the mausoleum of the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, was created for the 1910 Japan-Britain Exposition in London. It is now on display in the Zojoji Treasures Gallery on the first basement floor of the Main Hall
View the powerful and meticulously detailed “Five Hundred Arhat Scrolls” painted by late Edo period artist Kano Kazunobu. Completed between 1854 and 1863, the complete set of 100 scrolls is displayed in groups of 10, with the exhibition rotated approximately three times per year

Zojoji Temple, located in Minato, Tokyo, is the head temple of the Jodo shu sect of Buddhism and is renowned for its centuries-long association with the ruling Tokugawa clan. After Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Edo in 1590, he designated Zojoji as the family temple. It was relocated to its current site in 1598.
Much of the original compound, including the magnificent mausoleums of six Tokugawa shoguns, was lost due to air raids in World War II. However, the temple’s main gate, the Sangedatsumon, has survived since its reconstruction in 1622. This impressive structure is one of the oldest wooden buildings in Tokyo and is designated an Important Cultural Property.
Today, visitors can see the modern Daiden (Main Hall), which enshrines an image of the Amida Buddha. In the temple’s Treasures Gallery, a stunning 1:10 scale model of the Taitokuin Mausoleum—the original burial site of the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada—offers a glimpse into the temple’s former splendor. The gallery also features rotating exhibits of the Five Hundred Arhat Scrolls by late-Edo painter Kano Kazunobu.

Information

Spot information including address, access, and website
Address	4-7-35 Shiba-koen, Minato City, Tokyo
Access from Tokyo	(1) From Tokyo Station, take the Keihin-Tōhoku Line Rapid to Hamamatsuchō Station (approx. 4 min). (2) From Hamamatsuchō Station, walk to the Zojo-ji Temple (approx. 13 minutes). Show route from Tokyo Station
Website	https://www.zojoji.or.jp/en/