＊Ensenji-History＊

　The origin of the Ensen-ji Temple dates back at least to the lateNambokuchoPeriod (Period of the Northern and Southern Courts, 1332-1392) when the Taishi-do Hall and the Small Hall (Ensenbou the predecessor of Ensen-ji) are considered to have already existed. The temple was then restored by Great Master Kenkei in 1595. Its location is in a corner of Musashino, the plain spreading in the west of Tokyo, but the area around the temple has been a human dwelling site from the Jyoumon (c. 8,000 to c. 300 BC) and Yayoi (c. 300 BC to c. AD 300) Periods and nourished an ingenuous culture with considerable productive power in the feudal ages. This area came to play an important role as a vegetables growing area for people in Edo (old name of Tokyo) in the early 16th century. As the economy of Taishido Village became gradually stable, the temple precincts were enlarged and properly arranged with the Taishi-do Hall and other additional buildings including the Main Hall.

Koushin Kuyoutou or the Memorial Towers for the Blue Warrior were erected in1672. The Koushin belief of the Edo Period is usually divided into three stages: the first, the middle, and the late. The Memorial Tower of Ensen-ji belongs to the first stage and consequently is of great historical importance. This means Ensen-ji was the center of Koushin belief in the area in those days. The Kyouou Reform (1716-36), a reform movement instituted by the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune, naturally intensified the pressure on the farmers. It was followed by the "Kyouhou great famine" of 1732-33<, which took a heavy toll of lives through starvation. In such a situation of utmost social unrest, Great Master Shumyou by holding up the light of Buddhist teachings, strived to save people and thereby contributed to the further development of the temple. The relationship between the temple and local people came to be further strengthened around the Bunka and Bunsei eras (1804-30) when Edo culture most flourished, and thus the temple enjoyed wider support among people.

Unfortunately, however, the temple buildings were all destroyed by fire in 1857. The Main Hall, Taishi-do Hall, and priests' living quarters were reconstructed in 1860 by offerings from its followers, but they were far from being comparable to what they were in splendor. In the wake of the Shintoism-Buddhism Separation Edict the anti-Buddhist movement known as "Haibutsu Kishaku"(exterminating Buddhas and abandoning the scriptures) that began in the early Meiji Period (1867-1912), the temple then had to go through hard times of decline. With Great Master Eison's assumption of office as head priest of the temple, the followers joined forces in an all-out effort to protect the temple. The temple fortunately escaped the ravages of air raids during World War II and continued to preach the teachings of Buddha even in the postwar period of social and spiritual disorder. Thanks to the offerings and labor service of the parishioners, large repairs of the Taishi-do Hall corridor were carried out in 1951 in commemoration of the 1330th anniversary of Crown Prince Shoutoku's death. Then the Main Hall was repaired on a large scale and the graveyard was improved in 1964, and the Taishi-do Hall roof was repaired in 1969. In the Heisei era that began in 1989, a series of construction and repair projects followed, which include the construction of the Taishi Assembly Hall, the move to a new site of the Taishi-do Hall, the construction of the Taishi Assembly Hall Annex (1996), and the refurbishment of the Main Hall (1996). Thus Ensen-ji has kept the Lamp of the Dharma burning ever since its foundation and has remained "a spiritual shelter" for its parishioners. The temple is designated as No. 51 of the Eighty-eight Holy Places of Tamagawa.

[Eighty-eight Holy Places of Tamagawa]
This is a route of pilgrimage to the 88 temples along the Tama River. The list consists of the old temples noted in connection with Koubou Daishi (posthumous title of Kuukai) that were selected regardless of sects in the Showa era. The list starts with Heigen-ji in Kawasaki Taishi and ends with Hourou-in in Ohta-ku.

＊Treasures＊

▼Fudou Myouou (Acala, also known as the Fierce Deity of Fire)

This figure of Ensen-ji is 49.5 cm (about 19.5 inches) high. It is constructed by assem- bling separately carved blocks of wood - a technique known as "yosegi-tsukuri" - and was probably made some time in the Edo Period (1603-1867). With a lotus flower on the top of the head and his pigtailed hair flowing down the left shoulder, he stands on a throne of rocks with the left foot a step forward. He presents a really fearful appearance, holding a sharp sword in the right hand and a coil of rope in the left with burning flames surrounding the figure. He is flanked by two child servants, Kongara and Seitaka - a style known as Fudou Sanzon or Fudou Triad.

▼Jyuusan Butsu (Thirteen Buddhas) - Hanging Picture Scroll

In Buddhism it is thought that human beings repeat cycles of transmigration in the "three realms of the world" (the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the realm of non-form) and the "six lower states of existence." The dead undergoes a series of trials in the world of the dead by the ten lords, who will then rule where he or she should go. In the course of Buddhist history, the ten lords came to be associated with their respective original states from which their incarnations were manifested, and it also came to be believed that Jyuusan Butsu or the Thirteen Buddhas would save the dead at various memorial occasions after his or her death.

▼Shou Kannon Bodhisattva

This figure of Ensen-ji wears a crown topped with tiny images of Amida Nyorai (Amitabha Tathagata), drapes silk cloth round the body (called "jyohaku"), wears a kind of loose, pleated trousers (called "mo"), and also drapes a heavenly garment known as "tenne" round his hands and body. Kannon is adorned with a brooch, bracelet, and necklace, and sits cross-legged on a lotus flower. The figure is 36.2 cm (about 14.3 inches) high and is constructed by assembling separately carved blocks of wood ("yosegi-tsukuri" as previous explained). It was probably made some time in the Edo Period.

▼Roku Jizou-son (Jizou of the Six Lower States of Existence)

Roku Jizou represents Jizo Bodhisattva who appears in six different forms of incarnation to save suffering souls wherever they are in "rokudo" or the six lower states of existence (hell, and the realms of hungry spirits, animals, asuras, men, and heavenly beings). These six figures of Ensen-ji were constructed in November 1799 and are placed in the graveyard to the left of its gate.

▼Kosodate Enmei Jizou-son (Children-rearing Jizou of Longevity)

This figure was made in 1791 as the figure of popular Jizou worship in this area. It was moved from its original place in Sangen Chaya to Ensen-ji on May 21, 1968, and has continued to be worshiped devoutly. The figure is No. 4 of the Six Jizou Bodhisattvas of Tamagawa.

▼Koushin Kuyoutou (Memorial Towers for the Blue Warrior)

Two wood monument-type Memorial Towers for the Blue Warrior are placed in a big cavity at the root of a big hinoki tree at the right of the temple gate. They had originally been in front of the gate and was later moved to the present place together with the tree when it was cut.

▼Jyuuichimen Kannon (Eleven-faced Kannon)

▼Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara, also known as Goddess of Mercy)

▼Statue of Koubou Daishi (posthumous title of Kuukai) as a Wandering Ascetic

▼Stone Monument of Crown Prince Shoutoku

＊Brief Chronology Of Ensen-ji＊

1332-92：Probably late in the Nambokucho Period, Taishi-do Hall founded and Ensenbo(former name of Ensen-ji) considered to be founded as a kind Shinto-shrine temple (called"betto-ji"). Legend also has it that the temple was founded by Kobo Daishi.

1590：Go-hojo family overthrown, and Tokugawa Ieyasu enters Edo.

1592：Taishido Village (about 54 koku of land) becomes a fiefdom of Yamamoto Yojiuemon.

1603：Tokugawa Ieyasu founds the Tokugawa shogunate.

1611 ：Great Master Kenkei, restorer and founder of the temple, passes over.

1615 ：Tokugawa government establishes a system of head temple-dependenttemple srelationship in all sects of Buddhism on a nationwide scale, and Ensen-ji become a dependent temple of Hosen-ji in Nakano.

1604 ："Terauke" system (a system of registration of all families at a local temple as evidence of not being contaminated by Christianity) established.

1672 ：Koshin Kuyo-to (Memorial Tower for the Blue Warrior) erected, and another erected the following year. Koshin belief becomes in the area around this period.

1688 ：Visits to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines become very popular among the common people, and there seems to be no end to the number of people visiting this temple too.

1716 ：The eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune institutes the Kyoho Reform.

1728 ：Great Master Shumypromotes the status of the temple and inherits a school of Buddhism, thereby succeeding in gradually increasing its parishioners. The priest given the title of the restorer of the temple.

1799 ：Roku Jizo-son erected in November.

1857 ：All the buildings, ancient utensils and documents of the temple destroyed by fire on January 8.

1806 ：Main Hall rebuilt.

1868 ：Tokugawa shogunate collapses.Meiji Restoration. Shintoism-Buddhism Separation Edict issued by the new Meiji government, and Ensen-ji also removed from the office of head priest of Hachiman Shrine.

1871 ：Taishido local school opened at the temple. MIYANO Sanpei, a pioneer of education in Setagaya-ku, invited to teach at the school.

1873 ：A new educational system established, and Taishido Local School becomes Ebara Elementary School (predecessor of present Wakabayashi Elementary School).

1895 ：MIYANO Sanpei passes over at age 70. A monument in honor of his distinguished educational services erected in the precincts of the temple.

1899 ：The construction of the Main Hall (present Main Hall) completed in February. Crown Prince Shotoku Mandala made.

1926 ：Main Hall repaired on a large scale.

1931 ：Monument of Crown Prince Shotoku erected in May. Around this time,the temple thronged with pilgrimages by members of a religious association called "Taishi-ko" or visitors to festivals.

1936 ：Priests' living quarters repaired.

1948 ：Precincts improved."Taishi Setsubun-e"(a service held at the beginning of the year in commemoration of Crown Prince Shotoku) started.

1951 ：Taishi-do Hall corridor repaired.

1964 ：Main Hall repaired.

1968 ：Kosodate Jizo-son (Children-rearing Jizo)moved to the temple in May.

1969 ：Taishi-do Hall roof repaired.

1974 ：Muen-to(a memorial tower for those died leaving no one to attend their graves) erected on September 18.

1985 ：Statue of Kobo Daishi (posthumous title of Kukai) as a Wandering Ascetic erected in commemoration of the 1150th anniversary of his death.

30-8, Taishido 3-chome, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0004
TEL 03-3414-2013
FAX 03-3414-8613