Choon-ji Temple

What it is

• A Soto Zen Buddhist temple.
• Originated as an hermitage in 1387.
• Renamed Choon-ji in 1674.
• Enshrines Bishamonten, one of the Tokai Shichifukujin.

What to see

• Main image: 1-meter tall Edo period Amitabha Nyorai statue.
• Statue made of gold dust and lacquer.
• Grave of Matsuo Basho's disciple, Morikuni.
• Haiku monument with verses by Basho, Etsujin, and Morikuni.
• Separate temple building, Entsūkaku, built in 1989.

When to go

• Hosts various annual events and festivals.

Notes written by Japan Gems from facts in Japanese Wikipedia.