Zōjō-ji 3.17

San'en-zan Zōjō-ji is a Buddhist temple in the Shiba neighborhood of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is the Great Main Temple of the Chinzei branch of Jōdo-shū Buddhism. The main image is of Amida Buddha. The founder of Zōjō-ji was Yūyo Shōsō (酉誉聖聡).HistoryShūei, a disciple of Kūkai, founded a temple named Kōmyō-ji at Kaizuka ; it is said to be the forerunner of Zōjō-ji. Centuries later, in 1393 during the Muromachi period, at the time of Yūyo Shōsō, the temple converted from the Shingon to the Jōdo school. Shōsō is thus the founder of the present-day temple.Together with Kan'ei-ji, during the Edo period Zōjō-ji was the Tokugawa's family temple. Tokugawa Ieyasu had the temple moved, first to Hibiya, then in 1590, at the time of expansion of Edo Castle, to its present location.With the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, the grounds took on the character of a public park. The temple was badly damaged in World War II, but still retains the air of a major temple.