Shokaku-ji Temple (Sutama-cho, Hokuto)

What it is

• A Soto Zen temple founded in 1127 by Minamoto no Yoshikiyo.
• The 70th site of the Kai 108 Sacred Places pilgrimage.
• A former prayer hall for the Tayasu family that moved here in 1430.

What to see

• A mountain gate housing statues of the Sixteen Arhats.
• Main hall enshrining memorial tablets of Yoshimitsu and Yoshikiyo.
• A stone Jizo statue covered in miso by local worshippers.
• Cedar doors featuring paintings by the artist Saigusa Untai.
• Palanquins decorated with the official Tokugawa family crest.

Getting there

• Located a four-minute drive from the Sutama Interchange.

Notes written by Japan Gems from facts in Japanese Wikipedia.