Chorakuji Temple
The Chorakuji Temple is a historically famous place where the Treaty of Shimoda (Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and Russia) was concluded in 1854.
As a result of this Treaty, the ports of Shimoda, Hakodate and Nagasaki were opened.
It also determined that the border between Japan and Russia would be the Kuril Islands between Iturup Island and Urup Island, and Sakhalin would be a land where both Japanese and Russians could live.
In addition, Chorakuji Temple is the place where the instruments of ratification for the “Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and Japan” were exchanged in 1855.
This treaty was initially entered into between the Edo Shogunate and the United States one year previously in 1854, ending Japan’s isolation policy of over 200 years.
In recent years the temple is also popular as one of the “Izu Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Good Fortune) Tours” for visiting the temples in the area across Shimoda City and Minamiizu Town.
