Higashi Hongan-ji, Buddhist temple in Nishi-Asakusa, Japan.
Higashi Hongan-ji is a Buddhist temple in the Nishi-Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan, belonging to the Jodo Shinshu school. The grounds include several wooden buildings with curved roofs, among them a main hall for worship and an enclosed cemetery garden called Jōen.
In 1651 the 12th head of the sect, Kyōnyo, founded the Kōzui-ji temple in Kanda; it later became a branch of Kyoto's Higashi Hongan-ji. After the 1657 Meireki fire it moved to Asakusa, where it grew to 21 sub-temples and 35 tatchū on 15,000 tsubo. Hokusai depicted it in the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
The temple serves as a gathering place for community members who come together for shared prayers and ceremonies. Visitors can observe worshippers lighting incense and bowing before the altars, practicing the centuries-old rituals of the Jodo Shinshu tradition.
The temple stands in Nishi-Asakusa, about five minutes on foot from Exit 3 of Tawaramachi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. From the Tsukuba Express Asakusa Station, use Exit A2, roughly seven minutes away; from the Toei Asakusa Line Asakusa Station, Exit 1, about ten minutes. The grounds cover 4,250 tsubo.
In the Jōen garden, families can use shared burial sites, which is somewhat uncommon in Tokyo due to limited space. This practice allows multiple generations to be laid to rest in the same facility, maintaining traditional burial customs in the modern city setting.
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