The National Treasure Shofukuji Temple Jizodo
Shofukuji Jizodo is the only wooden national treasure building in Tokyo and is representative remnants of Zen Buddhism architecture, along with the Engakuji Shariden in Kamakura, which is the only national treasure building in Kanagawa prefecture.
According to the abbreviated history of the 1,000 bodies of Jizo Bodhisattva, kept in the temple storehouse, Hojo Tokimune, the 8th shikken (regent) in the Kamakura shogunate, fell ill while on a falconry expedition, and the Jizo Bodhisattva clad in a yellow robe appeared to him in a dream at the time. When he gave Tokimune a pill, the disease was completely cured, and, as a result, Tokimune came to believe in Jizo and built Shofukuji Temple in this area.
Jizodo is a Buddhist temple where the principle image is enshrined, and it is estimated that the date of its construction was 1407 (Oei 14) during the Muromachi period, according to an ink inscription found during a renovation in 1934 (Showa 9).
During the Edo period, the custom of renting a small statue of Jizo in the temple and dedicating it if the wish was fulfilled became widespread.
It is popular as there are about 1,000 Jizo statues, and it is locally called Shofukuji Sentai (1,000 statues) Jizodo.
It is open to the public three times a year in August, September and November every year.
In particular, at the Jizo festival, timed to coincide with the special opening in November, Gagaku and Urayama dances, intangible folk cultural assets of Higashimurayama City, are performed, and it is bustling with tourists.
