Ikegami Honmon-ji is the major Nichren sect temple in Tokyo, and a great place to see all the big Buddhist festivals. It’s especially worth a visit in late February to mid-March, when its extensive plum garden is in bloom, and for the Oeshiki Ikegami Festival of 10,000 Lanterns in mid-October.
This magnificent temple sacred to the Buddhist teacher Nichiren is most famous for its amazing plum grove and the Oeshiki Ikegami parade (the Festival of 10,000 Lanterns) in October, when three thousand people dance and parade through the streets surrounding the temple, bearing flower-garlanded pagodas representing each of Japan’s Nicheren temples.
Each one is different, some painstakingly pieced from cedar without nails…
some covered in gold leaf. All of them are works of art.
But there’s more to the temple than its once-a-year fesival. It also boasts a fine five-story pagoda…
…and a magnificent red and gold sanctuary.
In February, people flock to Ikegami Honmon-ji’s Bai-en garden…
to stroll the pathways winding between the trees and teahouses..
to see rare varieties of plum trees in bloom.
Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple
Open: Every day
Hours: Always open
Admission: Free
And because this is the major Buddhist temple serving southwest Tokyo, their celebrations of Coming-of-Age Day(Jan), Setsubun(Feb), Shichi-Go-San(Nov), and New Year’s are also magnificent.
For the dates of the next Oeshiki Ikegami festival, check the Tokyo Cheapo or TimeOut Tokyo websites for the most up-to-date info. It always happens in the middle of October.
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And here are the other places I take my friends when they come to town
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 