Virtual Tama Aqueduct Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Enko-in Temple

     Enko-in Temple was said to have been founded by Priest Joson where there used to be a lookout tower of Setagaya Castle after the Later Hojo Clan collapsed in 1590.  However, in 1902, 2 itabi were dug out of its precincts.  One of the two dates back to 1318, when Hojo Takatoki (1304-1333), the 9th Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, ordered the Nichiren Buddhist to debate with other Buddhist schools and sects.  Nichiren Buddhism dispatched Nichiin (1264-1328) to the debate.  Anyway, the precincts must have been a holy place even before the Kira Family arrived at Setagaya in 1366.

     Oba Kageyoshi (1128-1210) supported Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) in his rebellion against the Taira Clan and his establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate.  His son, Kagekane, disappeared when Wada Yoshimori (1147-1213) rebelled against Hojo Yoshitoki (1163-1224).

     On the Incident of Kajiwara Kagetoki (?-1200) in 1199-1200, Yoshimori conspired with the Hojo Clan.  On the Incident of Hiki Yoshikazu (?-1203) in 1203, he conspired with the clan again.  On the Incident of Hatakeyama Shigetada (1164-1205) in 1205, he conspired with the clan again.  In 1213, however, he was provoked to fight against the clan only to be defeated.

     Kagekane's brother, Kagetsura, was appointed to be a guardian samurai in a manor in Bingo Province later in the year, so the Oba Family wasn't destroyed as the Wada Family was.  Under the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333), Oba Fusahide became subject to the Kira Family and moved to Setagaya, Tama County, Musashi Province.  In the Warring States Period, which started in 1467, the Kira Family became subject to the Later Hojo Clan.  After the collapse of the clan in 1590, Oba Nobuhisa, the head of the family, chose to become a farmer.

     However, in 1633 under the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Ii Family came to rule Setagaya, and Nobuhisa's son, Morinaga, was appointed as a local administrator.  8 generations later, Oba Yajuro was promoted to samurai in 1830.

     After the Meiji Restoration, Enko-in Temple declined, but the Oba Family supported the temple's revival.

Address: 4 Chome-7-12 Setagaya, Setagaya City, Tokyo 154-0017

Phone: 03-3420-0706