Musō Soseki
Seihaku-ji was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1333 AD to pray for peace in the nation following the destruction of the Kamakura shogunate by Ashikaga forces in the Battle of Kamakura. Its founding priests were close disciples of Musō Soseki, and the temple's construction was supported by donations raised by Engaku-ji in Kamakura. Although Erin-ji in Kōshū was founded in 1330 by Musō Soseki himself, Saihaku-ji grew to become the leading temple of the Musō school in Kai Province during the Muromachi period. It transferred its allegiance to Kenchō-ji in Kamakura during the Muromachi period, and to Myōshin-ji in the early Edo period. Most of the temple burned down in 1682, with the exception of the Butsuden