Tenzai City Temple

The Tenzai City Temple [星勢閌方; てんざいてんぼら] is a temple located in the city centre of Tenzai in Heisai Prefecture. It is by far the oldest temple in the prefecture, and also one of the largest and most frequented, with over 300,000 visitors in 2017.
The building was known as the Tengōru Temple until the early 20th century, and acts as a tomb for members of the Tengō clan, who were extremely powerful during the 14th-18th centuries and held power over much of Heisai and Kigen at their height. Hundreds of nendo have been enshrined within the temple, and can still be visited. However, it also offers visitors the chance to worship and pray outside of the nobles' comemmoration hall, where a large statue of Yūgori, god of wealth, fortune and abundance, is located.
It is thought that the temple was constructed in the mid-1300s on commission from the chief of the Tengō clan. It has survived multiple renovations over the centuries and although many original features have been lost (including actual nendo and tombstones), the building remains a rare and beautiful example of a late Nittori period temple.