Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Saisho-ji Temple

 

     According to tradition, a fisher of Hibiya Village picked up an Amitabha sitting statue out of the sea, and built a hermitage for it.  Priest Monryu changed it to a temple and named it Saisho-ji in 1574.

     After Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) moved into Edo, Hibiya became a residential district for high-ranking samurai, and the temple was moved to Shiba-Kanasugi in 1612.

     On the last day of January, 1641, the Okecho Big Fire broke out from Kyobashi-Okecho.  The fire was fueled by the strong northern winds and spread south to Shiba.  It burned 1924 houses including 121 of high-ranking samurai and 56 of middle-ranking samurai, and killed more than 400 people including Kagatsume Tadasumi (1586-1641), who directed firefighting.  In 1643, 16 daimyo were organized into 4 groups of firefighters, and each group was routinely in charge for 10 days.  In the year, Saisho-ji was taken part of its precincts away for a firebreak.

     The precincts became too small, and Okada Yoshimasa (1605-1677) bought a lot in Shiba-Shirokanecho for the temple.  

     Okada Yoshiatsu (1558-1631) was born in Owari Province and was a vassal of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582).  After Nobunaga’s death, he was hired by Sassa Narimasa (1536-1588), who was promoted to be a ruler of Higo Province by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598).  However, Narimasa couldn’t suppress the rebellion of the local samurai in 1587, displeased Hideyoshi, and was ordered to commit hara-kiri suicide in 1588.  Narimasa cut open his belly straight and threw up his guts to the ceiling.

     Yoshiatsu became master-less again.  He was hired by Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611) for the Japanese invasions of Korea of 1592–1598 or Imjin War.  Yoshiatsu was taken notice of by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) and was hired by him.  Yoshiatsu was said to have brought a Korean woman, who gave birth to Yoshimasa in Kani County in today’s Gifu Prefecture.

     Ieyasu appointed Yoshiatsu as the 5th magistrate of Yamada Town, Ise Province.  As the communes managed the town, the magistrates’ biggest job was to carry on the renewal of shrine buildings every 20 years.  The 41st renewal had been carried out by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in 1585.  After 2 decades, the Toyotomi Clan was still alive, and Ieyasu had to show better performance.  The 42nd renewal was carried out in 1609.  After 1613, Yoshiatsu became a local administrator of the Tokugawa Shogunate in today’s Gifu Prefecture.  He was said to have introduced a new embarkment system to Kiso River.  He built levees in the right angle out of the main banks to weaken the current of the river.

     Anyway, Saisho-ji Temple grew, but, at the end of the Edo Period, it became accommodations for the Imperial army, and was set on fire by oppositional forces.  In 1877, the temple was revived, and, in 1887, Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943), who was born in today’s Gifu Prefecture, and who later became a famous novelist, entered Meiji-Gakuin University and boarded at the temple.  The temple worked like the Association of Gifu Locals.  As Tokyo grew, the temple was moved to its present place in 1911 due to the new city planning. 

Address: 2 Chome-29-3 Koenjiminami, Suginami City, Tokyo 166-0003

Phone: 03-3311-7534