Entsuji Temple

This Soto Sect temple is said to have been opened in 791 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro and preserves the Sho Kannon Bosatsu statue. Back in Edo Period, it was counted as one of the “Three Temples in Shitaya” along with Shitaya Kotokuji and IriyakKishibojin Shingen-ji. Before the gate, there is a Kannon Hall where nearly one hundred Kannon statues are housed which are from Chichibu, Bando and western region’s holy places. Thus, it was also called “A Hundred Kannon.” Today, the 12m-tall golden Sho Kannon statue on top of the main hall is a landmark.

During the Meiji Revolution, the new government’s army and the old Shogunate army fought the Boshin War. In the war, the battle of Ueno was fought by Shogitai. They were defeated and the soldiers’ bodies were left on the field, but a priest at then Entsuji Temple cremated and buried them collectively in its premises as Shogitai Soldiers’ Grave. Ueno Kaneiji Temple was the main battle field with guns. Its main gate, the Black Gate, was also transferred here. Quite a few history fans come to see the bullet holes of the fierce battle left on the gate.