Author: Richard Perkins
Photos/Videos Taken: 2021/08/10
Address: 4-7-35 Shibakoen, Minato-ku,
Tokyo,【105-0011】
Founded by the 8th founder of the Jōdo sect of Buddhism Yūyoshōsō, 三縁山広度院増上寺 (sanenzan-kōdoin-zōjōji) is a Buddhist temple that was founded in 1393. Part of the Jōdo sect of Buddhism, this temple became a Buddhist temple that retains the family graves of the Tokugawa shogunate (military generals). As one of the most well-known temples in Tokyo, it was originally built in a different location. Sanenzan Kōdoin Zōjōji was moved to its current location (the Minato ward of Tokyo near Hamamatsuchō station) back in 1598. Originally it was full of nature, but as Tokyo became the megalopolis it is today it lost that natural beauty. Leading up to this temple are skyscrapers all around.
Tokyo Tower is visible just behind Sanenzan Kōdoin Zōjōji, and there's no doubt that many who visit Tokyo Tower first stop off and pray here. This temple makes for a great photo but lacks places to see. Many of the buildings that were once in this precinct were lost in fires throughout the war. For this reason, some who visit Sanenzan Kōdoin Zōjōji may feel it doesn't offer enough to make it worth a visit.
For those movie buffs, particularly those who enjoy American movies, there’s a chance you’ve seen Sanenzan Kōdoin Zōjōji before. This particular temple was featured in the 2013 action-packed movie "The Wolverine". The main character in this movie attends a funeral that is held there. In the middle of this funeral, a fight breaks out with the Japanese Mafia, the ヤクザ (yakuza). Although this fight seems to have been filmed at a different location, there is a beautiful shot of the main temple.
Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States of America, visited Sanenzan Kōdoin Zōjōji in the July of 1879. This tree (that can be found as soon as one enters the grounds) was planted to commemorate that visit.