Choanji Temple

Choanji Temple in Tsuru occupies land that once served as a villa for the Oyamada clan, the warrior family that ruled the area from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century. When the new lord Torii Mototada converted the property to a temple in the late sixteenth century, he appointed the renowned Buddhist priest Shoyo Shonin as head priest. Years later, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu invited Shoyo to found a new Buddhist sect, an honor that would have brought significant influence. Shoyo declined and asked instead for a simple tea urn. The urn remains with the temple today. The current Main Hall dates to 1725 and is considered one of the finest worship halls in the prefecture.