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Location: Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Goshuin: Goshuin
Myōryūji (妙立寺), or "Ninjadera," is a Nichiren Buddhist temple founded in 1643 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. Built for the Maeda clan, it features trapdoors, hidden staircases, and concealed rooms, defensive architecture earning its ninja nickname, though no actual...
Why you should go
- If you bring your own goshuin book (not the official Kamakura Shichifukujin book), be aware that the temple may provide a pre-written slip instead of writing directly in your book, so clarify your preference when presenting it at the temple office.
- This is a small, quiet temple that takes less than 10 minutes to explore thoroughly, making it ideal to combine with other stops on the Kamakura-Enoshima Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage route rather than as a standalone destination.
- Visit the small hall on the right side of the main hall to see the wooden statue of Jurojin (one of the Seven Lucky Gods), and look for the pond in front of the main hall where Nisshin conducted his famous 100-day winter water austerities at age 21.
