Honryu-ji of Sapporo, Buddhist temple in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Japan.
Honryu-ji is a Nichiren Buddhist temple in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, whose mountain name is Myoken-zan and whose former head temple was Kinryu-ji in Ishikari. Its grounds hold the Myoken-do hall, built in 1868 by Otomo Kametaro, and a monument marking the centenary of Sapporo Village's founding, inscribed by former mayor Harada Yosaku.
Founded during the Ansei era (1854–1859) by Myōjuin Nisshō, the temple is the oldest in Sapporo County, Ishikari Province. In 1868 Ōtomo Kametarō, a Hakodate magistrate's official who helped develop Sapporo, built the Myōken-dō hall in its grounds. The temple name was officially adopted in July 1881.
The temple's festival, the Myōken-son Taisai held every 1 and 2 August, is considered Sapporo's oldest matsuri. Its holdings include a statue of the Myōken bodhisattva that Ōtomo Kametarō, who opened the Sapporo plain, kept as his guardian deity, a hanging scroll in his hand, and a waniguchi bell donated by the Ōtomo family.
The temple stands in Higashi-ku, a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Kanjo-dori Higashi Station on the Sapporo Municipal Subway Toho Line. Nearby are the Sapporo Village Local History Museum, on the site of magistrate Otomo Kametaro's residence, and Otomo Park, where the Otomo canal once met the Fushiko River.
The temple holds a hanging scroll brushed by Otomo Kametaro, the official credited with opening Sapporo's early settlement, along with a Myoken Bosatsu statue he venerated and a gong (wani-guchi) donated by the Otomo family. A centenary monument to Sapporo Village, inscribed by former mayor Harada Yosaku, stands in the grounds.
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