Zendoji

Zendoji is an ancient Jodo (Pure Land) Buddhist temple in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture. According to tradition, it was founded in 708 CE by the monk Gyoki. In 1590, Sakaibara Yasumasa, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Tokugawa clan and lord of Tatebayashi Castle, rebuilt the temple as his family's Buddhist mortuary. In 1615, it was designated one of the Kanto Juuhachi Danrin, eighteen important centers of Jodo Buddhist learning. The graves of Sakaibara Yasumasa and successive generations of domain lords remain within the precincts.