Enkiri-dera Mantoku-ji Shiryō-kan, Buddhist temple museum in Ota, Japan
Enkiri-dera Mantoku-ji Shiryō-kan is a museum dedicated to a former temple that provided sanctuary to women seeking to end their marriages. The collection includes historical records, personal documents, and objects that illustrate the experiences of those who came here.
Mantoku-ji, the temple whose site the museum occupies, was founded in 1246. The source does not record a grant by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1591; it identifies the temple as an enkiri-dera, a divorce temple, and the museum keeps records of the women who came to it. The present building stands on the temple's former grounds in Tokugawa-chō, Ota.
The temple served as a refuge for women during the Edo period, offering them a path to legal separation from their husbands. Visitors can see how this place became a turning point for thousands of women seeking a new life.
The museum stands on the site of the former Mantoku-ji temple in Tokugawa-chō, Ota. On foot it is about 35 minutes (1.71 km) from Tobu Isesaki Line Serada Station; from JR Takasaki Line Fukaya Station a taxi takes about 20 minutes. By car it is roughly 15 minutes from the Isesaki Interchange of the Kita-Kantō Expressway and about 50 minutes from the Tatebayashi Interchange of the Tōhoku Expressway.
The museum preserves records of over 2000 women who sought refuge here between the 17th and 19th centuries. This large collection of personal documents serves as a rare historical source about women's lives in Japan.
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