Tōjuin, Buddhist temple in Samani, Japan

Tōjuin is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Samani, Hokkaido, formally named Kikyōzan Kōtaku-ji Tōjuin. It was built in 1804 as one of the Three Temples of Ezo, established by the Tokugawa shogunate to govern the Ezo region and promote Buddhism among the Ainu. The temple's name means "equally moistening with the Buddha's law."

Founded in 1804 as one of the Three Temples of Ezo, Tōjuin was established by the Tokugawa shogunate to govern the Ezo region and promote Buddhism among the Ainu, who had no temple patrons; the shogunate supported it with 100 bales of rice annually. It declined after the Meiji Restoration withdrew that support and was abolished in 1885, then revived in 1899 and later moved several times for road construction.

The name Tōjuin means "equally moistening with the Buddha's law," written with the water radical 澍; it is sometimes mistakenly written 等樹院. The temple was built in an Ainu area where Buddhism was not practised, so it had no parishioners and was maintained by a stipend of 100 bales of rice a year from the shogunate. Sixteen items, including 15 Edo-period documents and a million-recitation rosary box, are designated Important Cultural Properties and deposited at the Samani Town Museum.

The grounds are open to explore at your own pace, allowing you to view the Buddha statue and walk around the historic structures. A nearby information center can help answer questions and provide context about what you are seeing.

The temple's name is often misspelled as Tōjuin with the character 樹 (tree) instead of 澍, which has the water radical; the correct meaning is "to moisten all equally with the Buddha's law." Sixteen items, including 15 Edo-period documents and a million-prayer rosary box, are designated Important Cultural Properties and deposited at the Samani Town Museum.