Before Ieyasu became the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, his roots extend all the way to the Matsudaira clan of the Mikawa area in eastern Aichi.

To this day, you can visit Daiju-Ji temple—one of the official temples of Tokugawa Ieyasu and his family. This Buddhist Temple was created by his ancestral clan and is just as much associated with him as it is with the Matsudaira name.

There are quite a few Buddhist temples in Japan, thousands in fact. But there is something quite unique about the Daiju-Ji of the Matsudaira clan in Okazaki. It is the only one to display the memorial tablet or “Ihai” of the 14 Shoguns who ruled Japan during the Edo period. An interesting fact about these tablets is that each one represents the physical height of the shogun and you will notice that Tokugawa Ieyasu had been a relatively tall Shogun when compared to the others.

If you’re coming from Nagoya, the easiest and most direct route is to take the Meitetsu Higashi-Okazaki Line to Okazakikoen-Mae from the Kanayama Station then transfer to the Aichi Loop line where it’s just two stops north to Daimon Station.

After about a 15 minute walk from the station, you’ll be able to come in through the main entrance that opens up into a large courtyard lined with rows of sakura, maple, and other indigenous trees. The gravel path from the entry leads straight to the main fixture of the grounds where you’ll be able to light up some incense and say a few prayers.

As one of the oldest existing temples of the Tokugawa lineage, you’ll get the chance to see and experience the home and history of one of Japan’s most influential leaders. Especially when walking to and up the steps of the main temple, you’ll be taken back into the Edo-Period.

Before entering the temple however, make sure to take your shoes off and be mindful of the noise. Beyond the threshold of this area, any kind of photography and video is prohibited without special permission by the staff. But anyone is welcome to enter this temple to pay their respects or pray for their own wishes.

To the left of the main prayer area, you can see a large Buddhist shrine in gold. It’s intricately fastened with hundreds of handcrafted pieces lit by dozens of candles sparsely spaced around the room.

A statue of Ieyasu himself is displayed just outside the temple with a large granite slab polished and inscribed with a brief history of the Shogun and his ties with Okazaki City. The inscriptions are both in Japanese and English.

Aside from the main temple, the grounds offer a variety of other fascinating points of interest including a traditional Japanese pond with lily pads and a stone bridge. As mentioned, there are a variety of trees that greet you as you come into the grounds, but the most prevalent is the Japanese black pine—Okazaki City’s official tree.

There is one more interesting fact about Daiju-Ji and its relationship with the rest of the Mikawa area. Okazaki City ordinance has prohibited building any structure from obstructing the line of sight between Okazaki Castle and Daiju-Ji Temple. In fact, you can see Okazaki Castle through the gates of the entrance from the temple steps. I’ve managed to include it in this wide-angle shot within the top right corner of the second gate in the background!

Irrespective of size or location, it seems as though that every town I’ve visited in Japan has had more than a few interesting tidbits of history or tradition and it’s those little (or not so little) surprises that encourage me to travel more mindfully and explore more carefully because you really can never tell what you’ll find out here!

By Donald Paul Whigan