TSUKIJI HONGAN-JI TEMPLE

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple (築地本願寺), sometimes archaically romanized Hongwanji, is a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple located in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo, Japan.

Tsukiji Honganji's predecessor was the temple of Edo-Asakusa Gobo (江戸浅草御坊), built in Asakusa in 1617. The temple burned during a city-wide fire in 1657, and the shogunate refused to allow it to be rebuilt in Asakusa. Instead, the temple was moved to a new parcel of land being reclaimed by the Sumida River�today's Tsukiji. Tsukiji Gobo (築地御坊) stood until it was levelled by the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923.

The present Tsukiji Honganji was designed by Chuuta Ito of the University of Tokyo and built between 1931 and 1934. It is noted for its unique architecture, influenced by temples in South Asia.

Honganji is a pilgrimage destination due to its artifacts of Prince Shotoku, Shinran Shonin, and Kyonyo Shonin.

The temple is adjacent to Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line.

The wake of Hiroaki Shukuzawa was held there on June 22, 2006.

(Article based on Wikipedia article and used under the GNU Free Documentation License)