Yanaka Tenno-ji

The main gate at Yanaka Tennô-ji, with the bronze Buddha and main buildings visible beyond

• Established: late Kamakura period, Seki Chôyô
• Other Names: 長耀山感応寺 (Chôyôzan Kan'ô-ji)
• Japanese: 谷中天王寺 (Yanaka Tennou-ji)

Tennô-ji is a Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, which neighbors and is closely associated with Yanaka Cemetery.

Much of the surrounding neighborhood was, during the Edo period, within the grounds of the temple. The temple, originally known as Chôyôzan Kan'ô-ji, is said to originate in the late Kamakura period, with a prominent local family who were adherents of Nichiren Buddhism.

In 1698, on the orders of the shogunate, the temple was converted from Nichiren-shû to Tendai; it was then renamed Gokokuzan Tennô-ji in 1833.

In the early Meiji period, a portion of the temple's grounds was given over to the City of Tokyo, and made into Yanaka Cemetery.

References

• Plaques on-site.