Buildings of Zojo-ji

The first basement floor of the Daiden (Great Hall) has the Treasures Gallery, an exhibition space completed in 2015. The gallery’s centerpiece is a highly detailed 1:10 scale model of the Taitokuin Mausoleum, the original burial site of the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada (1579–1632). The mausoleum, along with many other Zojoji Temple buildings, was destroyed in the 1945 air raids.

The Black Image of Amida Buddha is enshrined in this building and was worshiped by Ieyasu Tokugawa. This image is said to have repeatedly saved Ieyasu from danger and helped him win battles. Since the Edo Period, it has been widely revered as a Buddhist image that brings victory and wards off evil.