A woman was descending a flight of stairs toward a bright red pagoda

Pagoda of Ikegami Honmon-ji — Pagoda in Ikegami Honmon-ji

I had only been aware of the existence of a fine temple in Ikegami with the graves of celebrities such as Rohan Koda and Rikidozan. In fact, Honmon-ji is a Buddhist temple with such a long history that I feel ashamed that I had not been aware of it before. The temple is the site of the death of Nichiren Shonin, the founder of Nichiren Shoshu, who died here in Ikegami in 1282. If we compare Nichiren Shonin to Jesus Christ, this place is like the Golgotha.

To be precise, Nichiren Shonin died at the Ikegami Munenaka's mansion (present-day Hongyo-ji Temple), which was located beside Honmon-ji Temple, but he was cremated where the pagoda in the photo stands. The red pagoda in the photo was erected in 1828 to commemorate the 550th anniversary of Nichiren's death, and despite its beautiful bright vermilion color, not many people come to see it. Surrounded by a cemetery, the pagoda stands quietly. No matter how venerable the temple is, if it is not photogenic, few people may visit.

Comment via

日本語