Gessho-ji

Gessho-ji is a Jodo sect temple located in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture. The site originally housed a Zen temple called Toun-ji, which had long fallen into ruin. In 1664, Matsudaira Naomasa, the first lord of the Matsue domain, restored the temple as a memorial hall for his mother, Lady Gessho-in, and renamed it Gessho-ji with the mountain name Kangizen. From the second domain lord onward, it served as the family mausoleum for nine successive generations of the Matsudaira clan. The mausoleum complex is designated as a National Historic Site. The mausoleum gate of the seventh lord Matsudaira Fumai, crafted by master artisan Kobayashi Jodei, is especially renowned. The legend of the giant stone tortoise—which reportedly roamed Matsue at night—was recorded in the essays of Lafcadio Hearn. The temple is also known as the Hydrangea Temple for the many ajisai planted throughout its grounds.