The plate stupas were propped against the wall in the corridor

Plate stupas propped in the main hall of Kanei-Ji — Konpon-Chudo Hall of Kanei-ji Temple

After leaving Jomyo-in Temple and crossing the road, I was already in the precincts of Kanei-ji Temple. Jomyo-in Temple, a subsidiary temple of Kanei-ji, and Kanei-ji, the main temple, are located next to each other across the road. When I visited Kanei-ji, there seemed to be some kind of event going on there, with five-colored Buddhist flags displayed in the Konpom-Chudo Hall, the main hall, and plate stupas lined up in the corridor. It is likely that the Higan ceremony was being held there.

In Japan, it is common to visit the graves of ancestors at temples on the equinoxes, but this is not originally a Buddhist custom. Buddhism does not have the concept of ancestor worship. In Buddhism, where reincarnation is the cycle of life, ancestors are supposed to be somewhere else in a different form, so there is no need for graves. However, in Japan, where Buddhism was introduced via China, ancestor worship has become an element of Buddhism under the influence of Confucianism.

In the precincts of Kanei-ji Temple, there were people dressed in formal attire who appeared to be visiting graves. Kanei-ji Temple is a historic temple that was once a family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns. Some of the people dressed in formal clothes may have been descendants of the shoguns.

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