A green corner of western Tokyo

Guidebooks describe this green corner of western Tokyo as a calm, unhurried setting well suited to a slow day trip. Jindaiji Temple stands in Jindaijimotomachi, in Chofu City in the western part of Tokyo. The temple is one of the city's prominent landmarks and draws both domestic and international visitors. According to the guidebook (p.19), the temple traces its founding to 733 CE, giving it a history of more than 1,300 years in the Kanto region. According to the guidebook (p.106-107), the Jindaiji area holds some of Chofu City's roughly 60 confirmed natural spring sites, many of them concentrated around the temple. According to the same guidebook (p.106-107), the Fudo waterfall within the grounds is counted among Tokyo's 57 designated famous springs.

Centuries of history

According to the guidebook (p.21), during the Jogan era of 859 to 877 CE, the priest Eryo came from Mount Hiei to pray for an end to a local rebellion. According to the same guidebook (p.21), the court credited those prayers with resolving the conflict and granted Eryo the temple along with seven nearby villages. The temple later became an institution of the Tendai school, a major tradition of Japanese Buddhism, and was revered as a prominent training center for esoteric Buddhism in eastern Japan. According to the guidebook (p.76), in 1591 Tokugawa Ieyasu granted the temple fifty koku, a measure of rice-based land revenue, steadying its finances after periods of upheaval. According to the guidebook (p.21-22), two major fires during the Edo period destroyed nearly all of the temple's buildings, leaving just the main gate and the incense burner pavilion, known as the Jokoro, standing. The complex was later rebuilt in stages.

The gate, halls, and treasures

According to the guidebook (p.23-24), the main gate, or Sanmon, was built in 1695 under the mountain name Fugakusan and predates the other structures now on the grounds. According to the same guidebook (p.23-24), its thatched hip-and-gable roof is renewed roughly every 20 to 25 years. According to the guidebook (p.22-23), the main hall, or Hondo, was rebuilt in 1919 and enshrines a crowned Amida Nyorai, the Buddha Amitabha, as its principal image. Carved phoenixes, herons, and dragons ornament the hall beneath its front gable. According to the guidebook (p.21-22), a copper seated Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, was made in the late Asuka period of the late 7th century and was found by chance inside the temple in 1909 during a survey by archaeologists. According to the same guidebook (p.21-22), the figure was designated a national treasure in 2017 and is shown behind glass in the Shakado hall. The temple's seated statue of Ganzandaishi, also known as Ryogen, is an unusually large portrait sculpture. According to the guidebook (p.22-23), it is a concealed Buddhist image rarely shown to the public, with a special viewing held in 2025 to mark a major restoration and the next public opening scheduled for 2034. According to the guidebook (p.21-22), a new hall called Hakuhoin is being built to house the national treasure Shakyamuni statue for the temple's 1,300th anniversary in 2033. According to the same guidebook (p.21-22), the hall is designed by the architect Kengo Kuma and is planned for completion in 2027.

Legends, fortunes, and the daruma market

According to local accounts, a young man named Fukuman fell in love with the daughter of a local clan chief, who confined her on an island in a pond. Fukuman is said to have prayed to the water deity Jinsha Daio, who sent a sacred turtle to carry him across the water. Their son is said to have become the founding monk Manku Shonin, who established the temple. The temple's fortune slips, or omikuji, are said to follow an old form attributed to Ganzandaishi, also known as Ryogen, of Mount Hiei, who is credited as the originator of omikuji. This older form is said to keep a greater share of "kyo," meaning bad-luck, outcomes than many present-day temples. According to the guidebook (p.19), Jindaiji hosts one of Japan's three major markets for daruma, rounded talismanic figures, held around Setsubun, an observance at the start of spring. During the market, Buddhist priests perform a traditional eye-painting ceremony, applying Sanskrit calligraphy to the daruma figures purchased there.

Soba along the approach

The tradition of Jindaiji soba began in the Edo period, when local tenant farmers grew buckwheat in the area's mild climate and abundant spring water. These farmers made noodles from buckwheat flour offered to the temple and served them to visiting pilgrims. A statue of a Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, holding buckwheat seeds stands in the precincts as a reminder of this heritage. Guidebooks describe the approach road, or sando, as home to many soba restaurants, each using its own buckwheat blend — from 80/20 mixes to fully buckwheat noodles — and its own broths or dipping sauces. Side-by-side tasting from shop to shop is described in guidebooks as a popular part of a visit. The terrace seating at many of these restaurants, set amid greenery and water, is said to give a sense of having traveled far from central Tokyo. Guidebooks describe an annual new-buckwheat festival held at Jindaiji in late November, when visitors can move from one member restaurant of the Jindaiji Soba Association to the next. Related events are said to include a memorial ceremony for the soba-guardian Kannon.

Extending your visit

Guidebooks describe Jindai Botanical Garden, or Jindai Shokubutsu Koen, as holding about 4,800 plant species and as connecting to the temple precincts through a gate on the north side, letting visitors add a botanical stroll to a temple visit. Yumori no Sato, a natural hot spring bathhouse near Jindaiji, is described in guidebooks as drawing a distinctive black mineral water from deep underground and as a relaxed way to round off a temple visit. Guidebooks describe Jindaiji as welcoming to pets, with many nearby soba restaurants offering dog-friendly terrace seats popular among visitors who bring dogs.

Reaching Jindaiji

The temple is reached by Keio Bus from Chofu Station or Tsutsujigaoka Station on the Keio Line, alighting at the Jindaiji stop beside the temple entrance, as described in guidebooks.

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