Admission
- Adult (18+)Free
Minato, Tokyo Prefecture
At a Glance
The temple's elaborate 1:10 scale model of a shogun's mausoleum was displayed at the 1910 Japan-British Exhibition in London, then gifted to King George V and stored in the Royal Collection for over a century before returning to Zojoji in 2015.
Six Tokugawa shoguns are buried here, and the temple once covered 826,000 square meters with 48 attached temples and 3,000 resident priests—making it one of the most powerful Buddhist centers in Edo-period Japan.
Painter Kano Kazunobu spent 10 years creating 100 scrolls depicting 500 arhats' daily lives—bathing, studying, floating over hellish scenes—before dying at age 48; his wife directed a student to complete the final four scrolls.
This temple offers 1 different goshuin designs
Regular
¥500
Typical Crowds
Lively
Within 300 m Within 600 m
Visit the Ankokuden hall to see the Black Image of Amida Buddha, a statue said to have been worshipped by Ieyasu Tokugawa and credited with protecting him and helping him win battles.
Visit the Treasures Gallery in the Daiden basement to see a detailed 1:10 model of the Taitokuin Mausoleum, built for the 1910 Japan-British Exhibition in London and recently returned from the Royal Collection. Open 10am–4pm daily except Tue; 700
The large bell (Daibonsho) is tolled twice daily at six times each in early morning and evening to purify the 108 earthly passions, so time your visit to hear this 15-ton bell from 1673, one of the Big Three Bells of the Edo Period.
The Sangedatsumon main gate will start a 10-year restoration in April 2025. Visit before then to see the 1622 Important Cultural Property in its current vermilion lacquer, or plan for the work.
Pay a 500 yen entrance fee to enter the Tokugawa Shogun mausoleum area, where six Tokugawa shoguns are buried. See the final resting places of Japan’s most powerful feudal rulers.
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Facilities
The main hall has an elevator for easy access. You can also rent wheelchairs, so feel free to ask for one.
The divine spirits venerated at this sacred place
What this place is believed to grant
2 structures on the grounds
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.
Fascinating facts about this place
The temple's elaborate 1:10 scale model of a shogun's mausoleum was displayed at the 1910 Japan-British Exhibition in London, then gifted to King George V and stored in the Royal Collection for over a century before returning to Zojoji in 2015.
Six Tokugawa shoguns are buried here, and the temple once covered 826,000 square meters with 48 attached temples and 3,000 resident priests—making it one of the most powerful Buddhist centers in Edo-period Japan.
Painter Kano Kazunobu spent 10 years creating 100 scrolls depicting 500 arhats' daily lives—bathing, studying, floating over hellish scenes—before dying at age 48; his wife directed a student to complete the final four scrolls.
The "Black Image" of Amida Buddha enshrined here is said to have repeatedly saved shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa from danger in battle, earning it a reputation as a victory-bringing deity still worshipped today.
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