Tendai-shū Bekkaku Motoyama Fugakusan Shōrakuin Jindaiji Temple

Author: Richard Perkins

Photos/Videos Taken: 2021/03/20・2021/08/25

Address: 5-15-1 Jindaiji-motomachi, Chofu-shi,

Tokyo,【182-0017】

深大寺 (jindaiji) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Chōfu in Tokyo that was said to have been founded in the year 733 by Buddhist priest Mankō. Part of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, the official name of Jindaiji is 天台宗別格本山浮岳山昌楽院深大寺 (tendai-shū bekkaku motoyama fugakusan shōrakuin jindaiji).

Fukuman, the father of Mankō, was said to have fallen in love with the daughter of a wealthy and powerful family. However, the parents of this daughter opposed their love and banished their daughter to a small island on a lake. Fukuman didn’t give up and prayed to the god of water 深沙大王 (jinja-daiō). By doing so, a mysterious turtle showed up and Fukuman was able to ride on the turtle to the island where the daughter he loved was. When the parents of this daughter heard about what Fukuman had done, they gave him their permission to marry their daughter. Not long after, Mankō was born.

The name of Jindaiji temple was said to have originated from the god of water Jinja-daiō, and Jindaiji is said to be the second oldest temple in Tokyo after 浅草寺 (sensō-ji) temple in the Taitō ward.