Ikegami Honmonji

The Temple is a Nichiren school's major temple in the Ota Ward, Tokyo. It is the sacred place, where Nichiren Shonin entered nirvana (passed away) on October 13, 1282. The temple ground of approximately 230,000 square meters (70,000 tsubo) in area, in honor of the character count of 69,384 in the lotus sutra, was donated by Ikegami Munenaka, a lord of the Ikegami area of the Musashi territory. On the temple ground are many historical buildings such as the Daido hall, the Honden hall, and the five-story pagoda built in 1608. After passing the Nio-mon gate, you will find the Reihoden hall, where the sacred treasures handed down to the temple are housed and displayed. Among the stored treasures is Nichiren's actual writing of ”Kyodai-sho (Letter to the Brothers),” designated a National Important Cultural Property, is, in fact, a valuable property. The hall also stores about 1,000 Lotus Sutra research documents collected by Shoko Kabutogi, the leading researcher on the Sutra, and some materials are publicly displayed from time to time. It is free to visit the temple. The temple holds numerous events throughout the year. It is a ten-minute walk from the Ikegami Station on the Tokyu Ikegami Line.