Virtual Saitama City Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Shofuku-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Shofuku-ji Temple was founded.  The temple is located on the Omiya Plateau along the Minuma Substitute Irrigation Canal.

     Ina Tadaharu (1606-1653) changed the watercourse of the Old Ara, Old Tone, and Old Watarase Rivers under the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Rerouting these rivers threatened that their original basins could have water shortages.  In order to secure irrigation water for the surrounding area, Tadaharu built a 870-meter-long dam across the Shiba River in 1629, and created the Minuma Reservoir.  In the 18th century, the Tokugawa Shogunate developed new rice fields to increase its revenues.  Izawa Yasobe (164-1738) reclaimed the reservoir and dug the Minuma Substitute Irrigation Canal instead.

     Shofuku-ji Temple could have been founded after the construction of the irrigation canal.

Address: 7 Chome-19-1 Kamikizaki, Urawa Ward, Saitama, 330-0071

Phone: 048-833-4331