Yōshin-ji Temple

Overview

Yōshin-ji is a Nichiren-sect Buddhist temple in the Kizukuri Tsutsukizaka Matsumoto area of Tsugaru City, Aomori Prefecture, carrying the mountain name Mihashi-san. It was founded in 1853.

Highlights

• ●A Nichiren-sect temple carrying the mountain name Mihashi-san
• ●A Kishimojin statue carved in 1859 by Kyoto sculptor Hayashi Josui
• ●Graves of victims from the American sailing ship Chesbrough, wrecked in 1889
• ●Historical ties to its former head temple, Kizukuri Jissō-ji

History

This temple, once affiliated with Kizukuri Jissō-ji as its head temple, holds relics from two very different chapters of its past. The older dates to 1859, when a Buddhist sculptor invited from Kyoto, Hayashi Josui, carved the Kishimojin statue that is still enshrined in the main hall today. The other traces back three decades later to 1889, when the American sailing ship Chesbrough ran aground and capsized in the Sea of Japan; those who lost their lives in the wreck were laid to rest within the temple grounds.

Map

40.9022, 140.3404 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Visit the temple in the Kizukuri Tsutsukizaka Matsumoto area of Tsugaru City
2. 2Pay respects at the Kishimojin statue enshrined in the main hall
3. 3Stop by the graves of the Chesbrough shipwreck victims within the grounds
4. 4Reflect on the temple's 1853 founding and its link to Kizukuri Jissō-ji while touring the precincts

Did you know?

💡 The Kishimojin statue enshrined here was made in 1859 by the Kyoto sculptor Hayashi Josui. The temple grounds also hold the graves of crew members from the American sailing ship Chesbrough, a reminder of a maritime accident in the Sea of Japan.

Nearby spots