西念寺

You can reach this Jodo-shu temple in Shinjuku's Wakaba neighborhood on foot in a few minutes from the Sophia University campus area. Founded in 1594 and relocated here around 1634 when Edo Castle expanded, the current buildings date from a 1961 reconstruction after wartime destruction.

The two main draws are in the cemetery and behind the main hall. Just left of the cemetery entrance stands the stone pagoda grave of Hattori Hanzo, engraved with his Buddhist name and dated 1606. Behind the main hall, a large Gorinto tower commemorates Tokugawa Nobuyasu, Ieyasu's eldest son whom Hanzo served as guardian. Its stone door bears the Tokugawa hollyhock crest.