[Buddhist Temple] Kōenji Temple (高圓寺)

The sanmon of Koenji Temple

Koenji Temple (高圓寺), officially Shukuhozan Koenji (宿鳳山高圓寺), is a Buddhist temple (Sotoshu) located southeast of Koenji Station in the Koenjiminami District of Suginami-ku, Tokyo.  It was founded in 1555 by Kenshitsu Sosei, the third head priest of Nakano Jouganji.

The main hall of Koenji Temple

The temple gained some fame after Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Edo shogunate, dropped by during a falconry hunt.  At that time, the area was known as Ozawa Village.  It is said that Iemitsu renamed the village to Koenji Village after the temple which is still used for the name of the area.

Koenji Temple has experienced several fires over the years, from the Kanpo era until 1945.  The current building was reconstructed in 1954.

Stone torii engraved with a rising dragon and a descending dragon

To the west of the temple's main hall is a stone torii with engravings of a rising dragon and a descending dragon.  It is one of the three twin dragon torii (双龍鳥居) in Tokyo.