Tenno-ji (Okinawa)

The Methodist Church which has stood on the former site of the Tennô-ji since 1933.

• Founded: c. 1470, Shô En
• Japanese: 天王寺 (Tennouji)

The Tennô-ji was one of three Buddhist temples in Shuri associated with the Second Shô Dynasty royal family of the Kingdom of Ryûkyû. While the Engaku-ji enshrined the spirits of past kings, and the Tenkai-ji those of the unmarried children of the royal family, the Tennô-ji was dedicated to the spirits of the kingdom's queens.

The temple is believed to have been founded around 1470, by King Shô En. Following the dissolution of the kingdom in 1879, Tennô-ji became the private temple of the Shô family, but it was sold off soon afterwards. The main building was relocated elsewhere, and re-established as a school, while the original location became in 1933 the site of a Methodist Church, which continues to operate on that site today. Sections of the temple's stone foundation walls are still visible along Ryûtan-dôri (the main avenue running through the Tônokura-chô neighborhood of Shuri).

References

• Plaques on-site.

External Links

• Former location of the Tennô-ji, on Google Maps