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Kan'ei-ji is a [[Tendai]] Buddhist temple located in [[Ueno Park]]; along with [[Zojo-ji|Zôjô-ji]], it was one of two [[Tokugawa clan]] family temples in the Tokugawa shogunal capital of [[Edo]]. Five [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shoguns]] were buried on the temple grounds; six more are buried at Zôjô-ji.

Kan'ei-ji is a [[Tendai]] Buddhist temple located in [[Ueno Park]]; along with [[Zojo-ji|Zôjô-ji]], it was one of two [[Tokugawa clan]] family temples in the Tokugawa shogunal capital of [[Edo]]. Five [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shoguns]] were buried on the temple grounds; six more are buried at Zôjô-ji.

The temple was originally built in [[1625]] to help defend the shogunal capital of [[Edo]] from the unlucky northeastern direction. It was called Tôei-zan ("East-''ei-zan''") in reference to it being an eastern counterpart to [[Mt. Hiei]] (''Hiei-zan''), which guards [[Kyoto]] in the same manner.<ref name=maehira69>Maehira Fusaaki, "''Edo bakufu to Ryûkyû shisetsu - Tôshôgû sankei wo chûshin ni''" 江戸幕府と琉球使節～東照宮参詣を中心に, in ''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'', Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 69.</ref> The construction and establishment of Kan'ei-ji was overseen by [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]; it was founded by the monk [[Tenkai]]<!--天海-->, and served as the center of the Tendai sect for the [[Kanto region|Kantô region]]. Along with [[Rinno-ji|Rinnô-ji]] in [[Nikko|Nikkô]] and [[Enryaku-ji]] on Mt. Hiei, it became one of the chief three Tendai temples in the archipelago, securing, through its connections with the shogunate, the power of Tendai within Japan's religious hierarchies.

The temple was originally built in [[1625]] to help defend the shogunal capital of [[Edo]] from the unlucky northeastern direction. It was called Tôei-zan ("East-''ei-zan''") in reference to it being an eastern counterpart to [[Mt. Hiei]] (''Hiei-zan''), which guards [[Kyoto]] in the same manner.<ref name=maehira69>Maehira Fusaaki, "''Edo bakufu to Ryûkyû shisetsu - Tôshôgû sankei wo chûshin ni''" 江戸幕府と琉球使節～東照宮参詣を中心に, in ''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'', Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 69.</ref> The construction and establishment of Kan'ei-ji was overseen by [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]; it was founded by the monk [[Tenkai]]<!--天海-->, and served as the center of the Tendai sect for the [[Kanto region|Kantô region]]. Along with [[Rinno-ji|Rinnô-ji]] in [[Nikko|Nikkô]] and [[Enryaku-ji]] on Mt. Hiei, it became one of the chief three Tendai temples in the archipelago, securing, through its connections with the shogunate, the power of Tendai within Japan's religious hierarchies. The shogun typically visited the temple and paid respects to his ancestors on the 10th or 20th day of the new year each year, as well as on other occasions.<ref>Hirai Kiyoshi, ''Edo-jô to Shôgun no kurashi'', Gakken (2000), 32.</ref>

[[Prince Morizumi]] (Shuchô hosshinnô<!--守澄法親王-->), a son of [[Emperor Go-Mizunoo]], served as the first head priest (''[[zasu]]''<!--座主-->) of the temple, a position which continued to be occupied by members of the Imperial family down through the generations. These ''[[monzeki]]'' (priests of [[kuge|aristocratic]] or Imperial lineage) associated with Kan'ei-ji came to be called Rinnôji-no-miya.<ref name=maehira69/>

[[Prince Morizumi]] (Shuchô hosshinnô<!--守澄法親王-->), a son of [[Emperor Go-Mizunoo]], served as the first head priest (''[[zasu]]''<!--座主-->) of the temple, a position which continued to be occupied by members of the Imperial family down through the generations. These ''[[monzeki]]'' (priests of [[kuge|aristocratic]] or Imperial lineage) associated with Kan'ei-ji came to be called Rinnôji-no-miya.<ref name=maehira69/>