Tokuzo-ji

Tokuzoji is a temple of the Rinzai Daitokuji school located in Higashimurayama City, Tokyo. According to temple tradition, it was founded in 1194 (Kenkyū 5) by order of Minamoto no Yoritomo, with Hinotomo Munetada of the Murayama clan as the founding patron and Yunhan Hōin as the founding priest. During the Kamakura and Muromachi periods it flourished as the clan temple of the Murayama party and maintained close ties with the shogunate. After a period of decline caused by warfare, it was revived in the Edo period upon receiving a vermilion-seal document from the Tokugawa shogunate. The temple also contributed to education through its role as a terakoya learning center. Among its cultural assets, the memorial stone stele for warriors who fell in Genkō 3 (1333) has been designated an Important Cultural Property.