[Osaka] Nanshuji Temple, Sakai City

#SummerCampaign

Nansoji Temple is a Rinzai sect Daitokuji temple founded in 1557 by Miyoshi Nagayoshi, who invited Daibayashi Sotō to pray for the soul of his father, Motonaga.
It was the Miyoshi clan, originally from Tokushima, who laid the foundation for Sakai's prosperity as a commercial capital, even before Nobunaga.
After being burned down during the Summer Siege of Osaka in 1615, the temple was rebuilt by Takuan Soho and others.

The temple grounds include a dry landscape garden, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty; the Buddha Hall, Sanmon Gate, and Karamon Gate, nationally designated Important Cultural Properties; the graves of Miyoshi Nagayoshi's family; memorial towers for the Sen family, as the temple is associated with the training of tea masters Takeno Joō and Sen no Rikyu; and the Jissoan teahouse, favored by Rikyu.

The Buddhist hall is the only one in the prefecture built using Zen architectural techniques, and the interior ceiling is decorated with a painting of the "Eight-Faced Dragon."
The principal image of the temple, Shaka Nyorai, is located above the central altar.

It is also the legendary temple of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and his grave is located here!

The volunteer's explanation was very interesting!

"After being defeated by Sanada Nobushige in the Summer Siege of Osaka, Tokugawa Ieyasu was spotted by Goto Matabei while fleeing in his palanquin, and was stabbed with Goto's spear. He barely managed to escape to Sakai, but when he opened the palanquin, he was already dead. His remains were temporarily hidden beneath the temple's founder's hall, and were later reburied."
There is evidence that a Toshogu Shrine once stood here (destroyed in the Sakai air raid), that a magnificent megalithic tomb was built on the site of the Toshogu Shrine by Miki Keijiro, whose ancestor was a chief retainer of the Mito Tokugawa clan, and that records of Tokugawa Hidetada and Iemitsu visiting the temple one after another in 1623 (Genwa 9) are still available.

It was a very interesting story✨

It's a shame that photography wasn't allowed inside the gate.

Admission Fee: ¥400 for Adults

Ryukozan Nanshuji Temple
3-1-2 Higashi Minami-Hatago-cho, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture 590-0965
#SakaiTourism