Kuhonsan Yoanenbutsuin Jōshinji Temple

Author: Richard Perkins
Photos/Videos Taken: 2021/07/11
Address: 7-41-3 Okusawa, Setagaya-ku,
Tokyo【158-0083】

九品山唯在念佛院浄真寺 (kuhonsan-yoanenbutsuin-jōshinji) is a Buddhist temple in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo that’s part of the Jōdo sect of Buddhism. This temple was founded in 1678 by the holy priest Kaseki and became a branch of 三縁山広度院増上寺 (sanenzan-kōdoin-zōjōji), another Buddhist temple that’s located in the Minato ward of Tokyo, back in 1698.

The 九品 (kuhon) in the name of this temple is said to express the nine levels of dying an easy (and peaceful) death, 九品浄土 (kuhon-jōdo), in the Buddhist religion. These nine levels are split into three main levels: 上品 (jōbon), 中品 (chūbon), and 下品 (gebon). Inside of these three main levels are 上品上生 (jōhon-jōshō)、上品中生 (jōbon-chūshō)、上品下生 (jōbon-geshō)、中品上生 (chūbon-jōshō)、中品中生 (chūbon-chūshō)、中品下生 (chūbon-geshō)、下品上生 (gebon-jōshō)、下品中生 (gebon-chūshō)、and 下品下生 (gebon-geshō).

Kuhonsan Yoanenbutsuin Jōshinji Temple is said to be located in one of the few areas of scenic beauty in Tokyo. That beauty is what makes this temple a pleasure to visit. One step into the grounds here and you feel you’ve stepped into the middle of a forest. In the spring cherry blossoms bloom, in the summer the grounds spring to life with fresh green leaves and shrubbery, and in the fall the autumn foliage is beautiful. If it snowed here in the winter, the grounds would undoubtedly become even more of a divine and awe-inspiring atmosphere.