Gōtoku-ji

Main hall of Gōtoku-ji

Gōtoku-ji ( Japanese豪徳寺) is a Buddhist temple , which is also known as the "cat temple " because of the Maneki-neko . It is located in the southwestern Setagaya district of Tokyo city in Japan.

description

The entrance gate of the temple complex is located east of the Miyanosaka station in Setagaya. If you walk through it, in a garden on the right is the bell tower with a bell from the 17th century , and on the left a three-story pagoda . In front of your head you can see a Buddha hall. Behind it is the main hall of the Gōtoku-ji, to the right of which is the administration building with attached souvenir shop and to the left is a single-tier pagoda. If you turn on the way back to the front of the Buddha Hall the way to the right, is a succession of chance Hall (open Jap.招福殿) and the Tama- shrine with Maneki-neko figures on the right side. On the left you can see the three-story pagoda, newly built in 2006. There are carvings of animals of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs on it . It starts with the rat , which was also given a cat in this pagoda . In more or less hidden places there are carvings of cats. If you follow the path, you will reach the cemetery with the grave of Naotaka Ii .

Buddha hall

Location

Gōtoku-ji is easily accessible by train from central Tokyo. From Shinjuku Station , take the Odakyū Odawara Line towards Hon-Atsugi, 15 minutes to Gōtokuji Station . Or you can take the Tokyu Group's tram on the Setagaya line to the Miyanosaka stop. It is a 5-minute walk from the statue of a Maneki-neko.

Position according to the World Geodetic System 1984 : 35 ° 38 ′ 55.6 ″ N , 139 ° 38 ′ 50.7 ″ E Coordinates: 35 ° 38 ′ 55.6 ″ N , 139 ° 38 ′ 50.7 ″ E , address : 2-24-7 Gotokuji, Setagaya 154-0021, Tokyo Prefecture 35.648772 139.647417

opening hours

Naotaka li (Japanese 井伊直孝ii naotaka)

Temple complex: daily from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Souvenir shop: daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission is free.

history

The main temple area is believed to have been the main part of Setagaya Castle on Mount Daieizan , which was abandoned as the residence of medieval Musashi Kira by the defeat of Odawara in 1590 .

In 1480, Prince Masatada Kira , of Setagaya Castle, built a forerunner of this temple for Kotoku-in for his aunt and daughter of Yokotaka . The Gōtoku-ji practices Zen Buddhism . Initially the Rinzai direction , but in 1584 he turned to the Sōtō direction .

In 1633 Kanei Hikone and Prince Naotaka Ii founded and maintained the temple as a family temple of the Ii family . The temple name is based on Naotaka Iis Silanamen "Kushoin Gotoku Tenei Ishi".

In 2006 the three-story pagoda was rebuilt.

Legend

Maneki-neko at the Tama Shrine

In the 17th century of the Edo period , a poor monk lived in a small, rundown temple in Setagaya. Despite his poverty , he took cats into the temple and shared his meager meals with them. One day Prince Naotaka Ii from the district Hikone on the hunt , when suddenly a storm came up and he behind a massive tree brought near the temple in safety. At the entrance to the temple he noticed a cat named Tama, who raised a paw as if to wave him over to the temple. Curious, he left his cover and went to the temple to get a better look at the strange cat. As soon as he reached the temple, lightning struck the tree under which the prince was standing. In doing so, he completely destroyed the big tree. Naotaka Ii was so grateful that he declared himself the patron saint of the temple, renovated it , and turned it into his family temple . A shrine in honor of the cat Tama was also built next to the temple to remember who the temple owes its prosperity to. In 1697 he was renamed after him in Gōtoku-ji. When Tama died, she was buried in a special cemetery for cats . A statue of Maneki-neko was made in the temple to commemorate this particular cat that has been revered ever since.