SOUOUJI TEMPLE

About Sououji Temple

Sououji Temple serves as the final resting place for "Okame no Kata," the concubine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was a powerful figure in the 1600s and created the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1866. The temple is also the burial place of the wife and children of the Owari Tokugawa family, who ruled the area from the 1600s onward.
Founded in 1643, it was originally in present-day Higashi Ward, Nagoya City.
In 1662, the Suruga Palace, where Tokugawa Ieyasu had lived after his retirement, was moved from Shizuoka and the Kano School a group of painters who were retainers of the Tokugawa family, also relocated their screen and mural paintings to the palace.
In 1932 the Sououji Temple moved to the Kakuozan area, in the east of present-day Nagoya.
This period coincided with the development of the area around Nittaiji when temples were gathered from all over Nagoya, private schools were opened, and residences of businessmen were built.
Sououji Temple also has a stage modeled after the one at Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Higashiyama, Kyoto.
Although the Kiyomizu-dera stage and the Suruga Palace no longer exist due to the ravages of World War II and subsequent natural disasters, the main hall continues to host regular performance events such as theater, concerts, yoga, and more. Some portions of mural paintings can still be seen in the main hall and other areas today.