Honkoji Temple

Honkoji is the head temple of the Honmon branch of the Hokke sect of Buddhism, located in Amagasaki, Hyogo. In 1420, the monk Nichiryu was preaching in Amagasaki when the regent Hosokawa Mitsumoto became his devotee and asked him to pray for a male heir. When the prayer was answered, Mitsumoto founded the temple at Omonodono, completed in 1423. The main hall of Sanko-do was rebuilt in 1597 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Kato Kiyomasa. The temple relocated to its current site in 1617. It houses Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, one of the five great Japanese swords, designated as an Important Cultural Property.