Seiryuji, Buddhist temple in Tokamachi, Japan

Seiryuji is a Soto Zen temple founded in 1568 in the Shimojo district of Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, with the mountain name Sekijozan. Its main hall enshrines a thousand-armed Kannon statue, and a Monju Bosatsu image stands on the hill behind. The temple is the 96th stop on the Tsunan 133 Kannon pilgrimage.

Founded in 1568, Seiryuji is a Soto Zen temple with the mountain name Sekijōzan. The temple later became the 96th stop on the Chigo 133 Kannon pilgrimage. In 1974 the first haiku monument was erected, followed by a monument to the haiku poet Kōno Soshi in 1987. In 1994 the town of Kawanishi developed a walking path and gazebo in the beech forest behind the temple.

The temple is the 96th stop on the 133-site Echigo-Tsumari pilgrimage, and its main hall holds a Senju Kannon statue whose festival is held on the seventeenth night. The hill behind the temple is the Kawanishi Haiku Monument Park, with 33 stone haiku markers set among a beech grove; a citizens' haiku contest is held there each autumn.

The temple is easily reached by public bus from Tokamachi Station and sits in a quiet rural setting. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended since you will spend time exploring the grounds and visiting different areas.

Behind the main hall, a path climbs into a beech grove where 33 haiku stones stand among the trees. The first was erected in 1974 for Kitamura Tōsha; Kōno Suju's stone followed in 1987. The grove is a Kawanishi haiku park, and a citizens' haiku contest is held there each autumn.