​History of Daiganji Temple

The mountain name of Daigan-ji Temple is Ryutakuzan, and the temple name is Genchu-in.

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Approximately 470 years ago, in the 20th year of Tenbun (1551, according to one theory, 22nd year of Tenbun) at the end of the Sengoku period, Doyo Teigaku Shonin (1515-1574) ) was founded as Kaizan (first chief priest).

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At the time of its founding, the great Danna (financial supporters) were Hara Tanei and his wife, the lords of Ikomi Castle, one of the six members of the Chiba clan. Princess Hara, who was suffering from a serious illness that neither medicine nor prayers could help with, was healed by the preaching and nenbutsu of Doyo Shonin, who was on a missionary pilgrimage in the area, and both her husband and wife deeply devoted themselves to the Shonin and remained for a long time. It is said that he donated the temple territory and built a new temple so that he could stay in this area.

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Doyo Shonin was born in Osaka and became a monk at the age of thirteen. At the age of 17, he entered Danrin Iinuma Kokyoji Temple, continued his studies, and received the Fusatsu Daikai at the age of 32 in the 15th year of Tenbun (1546). The Shonin traveled all over the country and endeavored to spread the word, and in Ikomi Castle.

He received the devotion of Hara Tanei and his wife. At the time of the founding of Daigan-ji Temple, Shonin was known to the world as a high-ranking monk who was both scholarly and moral. Many young monks admired Daiganji's virtues, and at its peak there were more than 40 school dormitories. Doyo Teibaku Shonin later became the 9th head of Zojoji Temple, and is a high priest whose name remains in the history of the Jodo sect, including the enactment of the ``Doyo-ryu Denpo.'' Shindaigan-ji Temple (currently Chogen-ji Temple) in Usui is the temple where Doyo Shonin retired.

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Lord Hara Tanei died in battle while siding with the Hojo clan during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's conquest of Odawara, but Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu, who replaced the Hojo clan as ruler of the Kanto region, revealed that his family's sect was the Jodo sect. As a result, Daigan-ji Temple was protected by the early warning.

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