Michelin’s Green Guide introduced this small temple in the middle of Izu Peninsula as a two-star destination in Japan. Shigetsu-den Temple was built for the repose of Minamoto Yoriie (2nd Shogun of Kamakura Shogunate) by his mother Hojo Masako. Yoriie took on the position of Shogun when he was 18, but opposing samurai clans fought to push aside him. Eventually, Yoriie was assassinated while bathing here in Shuzen-ji. 95 years later, when the Chinese priest Issan Ichinei was confined in Shuzen-ji on suspicion of committing espionage, he wrote out the calligraphy for “Shigetsu-den” in a very unique style. I wonder how a high level Zen priest saw the bloody world of the samurai.
Shuzen-ji Shigetsu-den Temple
Samurai tragedy and a Chinese priest
