Encho Matsuri at Zenshoan Temple

Zenshoan Temple in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood was founded in 1883 by Yamaoka Tesshu, a samurai bodyguard who negotiated the bloodless surrender of Edo in 1868. After the civil war, Yamaoka created the temple to memorialize all who died in the conflict, regardless of which side they fought on, at a time when only imperial loyalists were honored at official shrines. The temple's name comes from a piece of calligraphy by 13th-century Zen master Lanxi Daolong, passed down through generations of a local family and given to Yamaoka, who is said to have founded the temple on the spot where the master's ship ran aground.