is a
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...
located in the city of
Shimoda,
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. It is noteworthy in that it served as the first American
consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
in Japan. The temple and its grounds were designated as a
National Historic Site of Japan in 1951.
History
The exact date of the foundation of Gyokusen-ji is uncertain, but temple records indicate that it was originally a
Shingon sect hermitage converted to the
Sōtō Zen
Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...
sect in the
Tenshō period (1573–1592). The current ''
Hondō'' was built in 1848, but soon after its completion it was commandeered by the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
for use as a residence for foreign visitors to Shimoda during negotiations to end Japan's
national isolation policy. It hosted officers from American
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (India), in India
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
Matthew Perry
Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was an American and Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He gained international fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994– ...
’s
flotilla
A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet.
Composition
A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...
of
Black Ships, and Japanese authorities allowed the bodies of dead American sailors to be buried in its graveyard.
Visit by Admiral Putyatin
Gyokusen-ji was selected by officials of the Tokugawa shogunate to host Imperial Russian admiral
Yevfimiy Putyatin and his officers during their stay in Shimoda. Putyatin had called at Shimoda on November 22, 1854, as it had been opened to the Americans by the
Convention of Kanagawa
The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the or the , was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Unequal treaty#Japan, Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-ye ...
, intending to continue on to
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
to press on with negotiations to establish a similar treaty between Japan and Russia. However, he became stranded in Shimoda due to a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
caused by the
Ansei Tokai earthquake which destroyed his ships. Negotiations continued at Shimoda while Putyatin's worked on building a new ship at nearby
Heda. These negotiations resulted in the
Treaty of Shimoda on February 7, 1855, which opened the ports of
Hakodate
is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...
,
Nagasaki
, officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
and Shimoda to Russian vessels, permitted limited trading and the residence of a Russian consul, and fixed the border of Japan and Russia on the
Kurile Islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...
between
Urup and
Iturup
Iturup (; ), also historically known by #Names, other names, is an island in the Kuril Archipelago separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. The town of Kurilsk, administrative center of Kurilsky District, is located roughly mi ...
.
The graves of four Russian sailors (three from the
''Diana'' and one from the ''Askold'') who died while at Shimoda are located at the temple.
First US consulate in Japan
Shortly after the Russian delegation departed, Gyokusen-ji was again commandeered by the government. After the
Treaty of Kanagawa theoretically opened Japan to the outside world, a group of American merchants landed in Shimoda and unsuccessfully attempted to open trade relations – an issue which had not yet been settled by treaty. This group resided at Gyokusen-ji after the departure of the Russians almost until the arrival of
Townsend Harris, the first American
Consul General
A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
A consu ...
to Japan in 1856, together with his secretary-interpreter
Henry Heusken. The temple was used as their residence and as the official US consulate in Japan for a period of two years and ten months.
The temple has opened the Townsend Harris Museum, with documents, ''
ukiyo-e
is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...
'', and dioramas describing the temple during the
Bakumatsu period, along with a few of Townsend Harris's personal effects, the diary of Hamada Yoheiji, headman of Kakizaki village where the temple is located, and other items.
Foreign cemetery

Five Americans and three Russians who died in Shimoda in the 1850s are buried in the temple cemetery. The five Americans buried at Gyokusen-ji are recorded as:
* Robert Williams,
US Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
private who died from a fever while serving on the
USS ''Mississippi'' (b.
Hebron, Connecticut
Hebron ( ) is a New England town, town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 9,098 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, d. 6 March 1854, aged 21). Williams body had initially been interred in Yokohama in a Christian burial service conducted by
Revd. George Jones on the 9 March 1854. After the signing of the
Convention of Kanagawa
The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the or the , was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Unequal treaty#Japan, Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-ye ...
on 31 March 1854, a decision was made to relocate his grave to Shimoda, the designated
treaty port
Treaty ports (; ) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Qing dynasty of China (before the ...
, prior to the fleet's departure in June.
* G.W. Parish, USN sailor who died in a fall from rigging while serving on the
USS ''Powhatan'' (d. 5 May 1854, aged 24)
* Jas. Hamilton, USN Assistant Surgeon on the
USS ''Susquehanna'' (d. 6 September 1854, aged 38)
* John D. Storm, USN fireman serving on the
USS ''Powhatan'' (b.
Schoharie County, New York
Schoharie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is Schoharie. "Schoharie" comes from a Mohawk word meaning ...
, d. 2 February 1855, aged 27)
* Alexander Doonan,
US Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
serving on the
USS ''Mississippi'' (d. 31 July 1858)
Other memorials
Monument to the first cow in Japan to be slaughtered for human consumption
Harris remained in residence at the temple for two years and ten months. During his stay, Harris demanded that the Japanese provide him with both milk and beef. Gyokusen-ji today has a monument decorated with the image of a cow, which the temple claims to mark the site where the first cow to be slaughtered in Japan for human consumption was killed. Its English language sign reads:
"This monument, erected in 1931 by the butchers of Tokyo, marks the spot where the first cow in Japan was slaughtered for human consumption. (Eaten by Harris and Heusken)".
Other memorials include a commemoration of the temple as the birthplace of Japanese milk production, and another commemorating the visit of President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
in 1979.
See also
*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Shizuoka)
References
Bibliography
* Statler, Oliver. ''Shimoda Story''. University of Hawaii Press (1986)
* Van Zandt, Howard F. ''Pioneer American Merchants in Japan''. Lotus Press (1981).
External links
official home pageAgency for Cultural Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyokusen-Ji
Buddhist temples in Shizuoka Prefecture
Museums in Shizuoka Prefecture
Historic Sites of Japan
Buddhist cemeteries
Shimoda, Shizuoka
Soto temples
Izu Province