History of Nagoya Betsuin
During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Shinran Shonin (1173-1262) believed that the true way to live was to live the life ofthe Nembutsu, (repetition of the name of Amitābha.)
Shinran's teachings were spread by Rennyo Shonin (1415-1499) in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and have been
carefully passed on to the people here in Owari.
Nagoya Betsuin is a Shinshu-Otani sect temple established in 1690 by Ichinyo Shonin (the 16th head priest of Higashi
Honganji Temple).
This temple was built on the land donated by Tokugawa Mitsutomo, the lord of the Owari domain, on the site ofFuruwatari Castle, which is one of the residences of Oda Nobuhide, who is the father of Oda Nobunaga.
Since then, for over 300 years, the temple has been widely known as a place where people can learn the teachings of thePure Land Buddhism.
In March 1945, most of the historic buildings of the temple were destroyed by ﬁre in an air raid on Nagoya.
In 1962, after the confusion of the postwar period, the current main hall was rebuilt with the eﬀorts of the Owari followers.
I hope that this visit to the temple will be an opportunity for you to learn about the various histories that are connected tous, and to have an encounter with Buddhism that will illuminate the truth about yourself.

東別院

Higashi
Betsuin245.353 mm(Betsuin in the Edo period 「Owari
meisho zue [Guide to famous Owari sites]」
1805)

Betsuinintheolddays

Old Bell Tower

The old bell tower wascompleted in 1721. In 1918, thestone walls and roof tiles werereplaced. The bell tower wasdestroyed by ﬁre in an air raid
on Nagoya, but the bell survived
the war, and is still in existence.

Old Main Hall

The main hall was rebuilt in 1823, about 120 years after it was ﬁrst
built. It was destroyed by ﬁre in an air raid in Nagoya in March 1945.

Old Gate

1757Built in 1757, the old gate has a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha,
Maitreya Bodhisattva, and Ananda on the top of the main gate.
On the front of the gate, there was a plaque with four charactersthat say "Daihi Ougen", which can be translated to The Power ofAmitabha Leading Us . It was written by Gonnyo Shonin, the 21sthead priest of Higashi Honganji Temple.

Reconstruction of the Main Hall

In 1962, thanks to the kindness of the Owari followers, the main hall wasreconstructed.

English version
brochure

Shinshu Otani-ha Nagoya Betsuin[ Higashi Betsuin ]2-8-55 Tachibana Naka-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken 460-0016
TEL.052-321-9201 / FAX.052-321-3184

日本語教室協力

https://www.ohigashi.net

AHBCDEFIKお東幼稚園

20AJ11A Main Hall（Hondo）

The main hall of Nagoya Betsuin was built on thisplace in 1702, after receiving a donation of land from
Tokugawa Mitsutomo, the lord of the Owari domain.
This place is the site of the former Furuwatari Castle.
Since the ﬁrst building, the main hall was expanded
and rebuilt, and became the largest building in
Nagoya along with the Nagoya Castle tower.
However, it was burnt to ashes in an air raid on
Nagoya in March 1945, and the current main hall
was rebuilt in 1962.
The statue of Amida Nyorai (Amitābha) is located in
the center of the hall, and the portrait of Shinran
Shonin (the founder of the Jōdo Shinshū) is in thehall.
A variety of Buddhist services are held here daily.

What are Leftover stones?
The stones scattered around the Nagoya Betsuin
temple area and the Shimo-Chaya Park next to it are
called "remnants." These are stones left from when
Nagoya Castle was built. Back then, this place waswhere they cut stones for the castle. Some stones
have marks (like the red line in the photo) from thelords who got them. Try looking around the temple
area to ﬁnd them!

12D10F

23H

9I

C

B

16B Main Gate（Sanmon）

T h e m a i n g a t e w a s b u i l t i n 17 57 a n d w a s
destroyed by a ﬁre in the war. The current gate
was built in 1968.

C Statue of Shakyamuni Buddha

A statue of Shakyamuni Buddha (center), a statue ofMaitreya Bodhisattva (right), and a statue of Ananda(left) are placed on the top of the main gate.

E Monument to Toyomoto Sermon HallToyomoto Sermon Hall was one of the sermon hallsof the Nagoya Betsuin located in Sakae, Naka-ku.
This monument stone was unearthed during theconstruction of the Nagoya Expressway and thenbrought to the Nagoya Betsuin.

13J

水屋水盤

K

洗心道場

517

下茶屋公園

4銅燈籠
山門

鐘楼

12G

銅燈籠

教化センター
名古屋教務所

7納骨堂

E

対面所

参拝接待所

西門

819

18

本堂

11G

162114

L

1522

L
東門

お茶所と太鼓楼

中門

D Bell Tower

According to the inscription on the bell, the bell was castin 1692.
It has a total height of 177.5 cm and a diameter of 108 cm.
It is designated as a cultural asset by the city of Nagoya.
This bell is rung to announce the time of the Buddhist
memorial service.
The "Hatsu-gane (First Bell)" is held at midnight on New
Year's Day, attracting many visitors every year.

F Monument to Emperor Meiji's Nagoya Main CampIn 1890, when the army and navy conducted major
exercises in Aichi Prefecture, the headquarters of thearmy was set up in Nagoya Betsuin.
This monument was built to commemorate that event.

G Monument to the Emperor Meiji's Place of ResidenceThis monument was erected to commemorate
the Emperor M eiji's use of the Bet suin as his
temporary residence.

H Monument to the Poem by Sumita Chiken「Byakugou no Hikari toutoshi Yoha no aki」Thispoem can b e transl ated to The light of theAmida is precious in the midnight autumn.
Sumita Chiken, the author of this poem, played acentral role in the study of Jodo Shinshu
B u d d h i s m i n t h e O w a ri re g i o n . T h e s c h o o l ,found ed by Sumit a Chiken b e cam e thepredecessor to current institutions such as Doho
University, Nagoya Zokei University, and Nagoya
University of the Arts.

I Monument at the Site of Furuwatari Castle

T h e t e m p l e g ro u n d s a re t h e f o r m e r s i t e o f
Furuwatari Castle, which was built in 1534 byOda Nobuhide, the father of Oda Nobunaga. It iss a i d t h a t N o b u n a g a h e l d h i s G e n p u k u , (aceremony marking the transition from child toadult) here in 1546.

J Mizuya and Water Basin

K Mitegozaru Monument

The words "Mite Gozaru" are inscribed on thisstone monument. Mite Gozaru can betranslated to I'm getting watched , this is themotto of Enjo Miyabe from Toyohashi City, whodevoted himself to the missionary work of theBetsuin. This monument was erected in 1937.

L East Gate（Higashi mon）

The shape of the roof of the Mizuya (washinghands) indicates that there was a well on thenorth side. The water basin was donated in 1900.

The oldest wooden struc ture in this temple,
m e n t i o n e d i n t h e " O w a r i M e i s h o Z u e " (a nillustrated guide describing famous places inOwari province, published in the Edo period). It
was designated as a National Tangible CulturalProperty.

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