Zuigan-ji Temple

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About Zuigan-ji Temple

Zuigan-ji is Matsushima’s principal temple of the Rinzai Zen school. Its origins go back to the 9th century, but its present form is due to Date Masamune, who rebuilt it between 1604 and 1609 using timber brought from Kumano and craftsmen from Kyoto, as the Date family’s temple. The main hall (hondo) and the kitchen (kuri) are national treasures.

The main hall contains several rooms with painted sliding doors and panels in gold and color, depicting peacocks, cherry trees and pines, and with wooden carvings in the upper transoms. One room was reserved for visits by the feudal lord. The temple museum, Seiryuden, preserves paintings, statues and objects of the Date family, including a portrait of Masamune.

The entrance path is an avenue of tall cedars. To the right, a rock face is filled with caves and niches carved by monks over centuries, containing statues, grave markers and inscriptions, used for meditation and as tombs. The complex gives an idea of how religious life around the bay was before the arrival of tourists.

Next door, Entsu-in is a smaller temple with the mausoleum of Date Mitsumune, Masamune’s grandson, decorated with paintings of roses, and moss, stone and rose gardens. In autumn, the maples at Entsu-in are sometimes illuminated at night on certain evenings. Both temples are a few minutes’ walk from the Godaido and the pier.