Date Masamune's Ash Mound and Daiganji Temple, the Temple that Guards His Grave | A Unique Funeral Ritual Passed Down by the Date Clan [Miyagi Prefecture]

Zojozan Daiganji is a Jodo sect temple located in Shinsakacho, Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture .

This temple is known for its history of being deeply connected to the funeral rites of Date Masamune, the first lord of the Sendai domain

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Zojosan Daiganji Temple, where Date Masamune's funeral was held

Date Masamune, a feudal lord of the Sengoku period and the first lord of the Sendai domain, passed away at the age of 70 on May 24, 1636 (Kan'ei 13) at the Sendai domain residence in Edo

buried in the mausoleum (now Zuihoden) built on Kyogamine, located in the eastern part of Sendai Castle

Afterwards, Kakuhan-ji Temple (Kitayama, Aoba Ward, Sendai City), one of the five Kitayama mountain temples , and on June 23rd a large-scale funeral was held in a field at the southern foot of Kitayama, north of Sendai Castle. This place would later become the site of Daigan-ji Temple.

Since the remains had already been buried at Kyogamine, the funeral was held without the remains, and the empty coffin and grave goods were cremated, the ashes were buried, and a mound was built on top

What is the "Ash Mound" funeral ritual unique to the Date clan?

As mentioned above, only an empty coffin and the ashes of the grave goods were buried under the mound built at this time, and it is called the ash mound

This type of funeral ritual, in which the body itself is not interred, is not commonly seen in other feudal lord families and is said to be a custom unique to the Date clan

The exact date of its establishment is unknown, but it is thought that the intention was to conceal the location of the bodies and conceal the gravesites around the early Sengoku period in order to prevent disturbance by the enemy or grave robbers

The establishment of Daiganji Temple as a grave keeper protecting the ash mound

After Masamune's funeral, the head priest of Zojosan Shounin Sanenji Temple applied to receive land for a temple on this site, and on the condition that the ash mound be protected, he changed the name of the temple "Daiganji" and was granted 60 koku of temple land.

Daiganji Temple was given a special status within the Sendai domain and was tasked with guarding the grave at Masamune's funeral site

Later, the ash mounds of Masamune's mother, Hoshun'in (Yoshihime), the second feudal lord, Date Tadamune, and the third feudal lord, Date Tsunamune, were also found in the Kitayama area, but they were lost due to urban development, and the only ones that remain today are those of Date Masamune and his mother, Hoshun'in (Yoshihime)

The custom of ash mounds is said to have continued until the time of the fourth feudal lord, Tsunamura, but was later abolished by the fifth feudal lord, Yoshimura, who deemed it a "legacy of the Warring States period."

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Current Daiganji Temple and Ash Mound

Daiganji Temple still exists in Shinsakacho, Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, and continues to serve as the grave keeper

Main Hall

The main hall of Daiganji Temple has been hit by fire twice in the past, and the current main hall was rebuilt in 1933

Date Masamune Ash Tomb

The area of ​​Date Masamune's Ash Mound, which is surrounded by moats on all sides, is now the Haizukayama Wildflower Garden, where lush plants are protected.

Daiganji Temple Gate (former Manjuinden Mausoleum Gate)

The main gate of Daiganji Temple was originally built in 1709 as the grave of Senhime (Manjuin), wife of Date Tsunamura, the fourth lord of the Sendai domain, and was moved here in the early Meiji period. It was designated a tangible cultural property of Sendai city in 1987

The "three character" engraved on the gate is the family crest of the Inaba clan, the family of Senhime (Manjuin), known as "three characters in a corner cut." This is one of the valuable cultural assets that gives us insight into the architecture of the Date clan mausoleum from the mid-Edo period

Kannon Hall of the 7th temple of the Sendai Thirty-three Kannon Temples

The 33 Kannon temples in Sendai are said to have been selected during the reign of Lord Tsunamura, the fourth lord of the Sendai domain. The first Kannon temple is Horakuin Temple in Kawauchi Kameoka, north of Sendai Castle, and the pilgrimage goes north, east and south around Sendai Castle, through Kitayama, Aramachi, Rokugo and Shiromaru, before finishing at Shikaochi Kannon Hall at the southern foot of Mt. Kyogamine

Within the grounds of Daiganji Temple is the Kannon Hall, the seventh temple on the pilgrimage route

Daiganji Temple＜Information＞

• Name: Zojosan Daiganji Temple
• Address: 7-1 Shinsakacho, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, 981-0934
• Phone number: 022-234-3774
• Official URL: http://www.s-daiganji.com/

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