Sairin-ji Temple

Overview

Sairin-ji is a temple of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha school in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture. It stands beside the Omoi River in a place whose old district name is Funaba, meaning boat landing, where a wharf is said to have existed from medieval into early modern times. Built at a key point of river transport, it drew the faith of the merchants who passed through. On the north side of the main hall grows a dense stand of Chinese square bamboo, thought to have been planted by the merchants who came and went at the landing. It is a quiet old temple where the ties among river, temple, and human livelihood can still be felt.

Highlights

• ●A Jodo Shinshu temple beside the Omoi River at the former landing of Funaba
• ●A dense grove of Chinese square bamboo north of the main hall
• ●A historic site that drew the faith of merchants engaged in river transport
• ●A quiet riverside scene binding river, temple, and trade together

History

Sairin-ji is a temple of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha school located in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture. It sits along the Omoi River in a place with the old district name Funaba, and a boat landing is said to have stood nearby from the medieval into the early modern period. Many Jodo Shinshu temples were built at such transport hubs and drew deep faith from merchants engaged in river trade. The dense stand of Chinese square bamboo growing on the north side of the main hall is believed to have been planted by the merchants who frequented this landing, conveying to this day the temple's history alongside that of river transport.

Map

36.3063, 139.7893 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Head from central Oyama to Sairin-ji at Funaba along the Omoi River
2. 2Enter the precinct and pay a visit at the main hall
3. 3View the square bamboo grove north of the hall and reflect on the landing's history
4. 4Stroll along the Omoi River to trace traces of its river-transport past

Did you know?

💡 The square bamboo growing densely on the north side of the main hall is a bamboo native to China, thought to have been planted by the merchants who once traveled to and from the landing. Its name comes from its cross section, which is squarish rather than round, and a plant carried along with river trade remains rooted at the temple today.

Nearby spots