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Yagenbori Fudoin Temple in a Bakurocho neigborhood, Chuo ward, Tokyo.
Yagenbori Fudoin is a small, picturesque temple in the Nihonbashi-bakurocho area of Chuo ward, Tokyo, with a distinctive pagoda. It is distinctive first for its pretty octagonal roof perched like a hat on a head-like sphere, and also for being on a high platform, accessible by a flight of stairs flanked by red banners. It is also somewhat distinctive for being squeezed between nondescript concrete buildings that only serve to accentuate its charms.

A fudoin is a temple belonging to the esoteric Shingon branch of Buddhism championed in Japan by the priest Kukai (774?835). Yagenbori Fudoin was one of the three major Fudoins in old Edo (i.e., Tokyo in the pre-modern era), the other two being Meguro Fudoin in Meguro ward, and Mejiro Fudoin in Toshima ward. (Incidentally, Meguro and Mejiro mean, respectively "eye black" and "eye white" - an interesting contrast that in this context might just be a coincidence, but which warrants looking into for a future blog post, maybe!)
People paying their respects at Yagenbori Fudoin, Chuo ward, Tokyo.
Of these three, Yagenbori Fudoin is different in that it is actually the annex of another temple located over 22km to the south, in Kawasaki City - a temple called Kawasaki Daishi Heikenji belonging to the Chisan sect of Shingon Buddhism. Kawasaki Daishi.

Kawasaki Daishi is one of the biggest temples of the Chisan School of the Shingon sect. T...