Shōun-ji, Buddhist temple in Utsunomiya, Japan.
Shōun-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple in the Higashitomatsuri district of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, with the mountain name Tomatsurizan. Its grounds contain the main hall, the kuri, the mountain gate, the Dentōkaku hall, a statue of Dōshō Kannon, the Rakan valley, a pilgrimage route reproducing the thirty-three Saigoku Kannon sites, and a cemetery.
Shōun-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple on Mount Tōmatsusan. Its cemetery holds the tombstone of Tōmatsusan Bitchū-no-kami Takasada, a descendant of Utsunomiya Yasusada, who is said to have built Tōmatsu Castle on this land. The temple also serves as the family temple of the Nakamura clan, lords of Nakamura Castle, descended from Chitosemaru (Nakamura Tomosada), an orphan of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
The temple belongs to the Sōtō school and carries the mountain name Tosafuji-san. Its grounds hold a replica pilgrimage circuit of the thirty-three Saigoku Kannon sites, so visitors can walk the Kannon route without leaving Utsunomiya. The temple also serves as the family temple of the Nakamura clan, descendants of Minamoto no Yoshitsune's son Chitose-maru.
From JR Utsunomiya Station's west exit, take the Kanto Bus [54] Tomisato-dai loop or the [54] Tomisato/Takagi-danchi line via Nishiwada and get off at Showa Elementary School-mae, then walk 3 minutes. Alternatively, it is a 20-minute walk from Tobu Utsunomiya Station. The temple stands in the Higashi-Tomisato 1-chome district.
The temple grounds contain the Amashi-zuka kofun, an ancient burial mound, alongside a 17th-century weeping cherry tree. The tree, planted in the Meireki era (1655–1658) and about 300 years old, is roughly 20 m tall with a 5 m trunk and branches spanning 20 m east-west and 30 m north-south; Tochigi Prefecture designated it a natural monument on 30 June 1957.
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