, officially known as , is a

Sōtō 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 ...

Zen Buddhist temple in the Kappabashi area of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. It is named after the

kappa Kappa (; uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; , ''káppa'') is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value of 20. It was d ...

, a Japanese folklore figure, and ''Kappa'' (合羽), a vendor in the retail corridor.

History

The temple was founded as a Sōtō

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

temple first built in the

Marunouchi Marunouchi () is an area in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, located between Tokyo Station and the Kokyo, Imperial Palace. The name, meaning "inside the circle", derives from its location within the palace's outer moat. Marunouchi is the core ...

area of Tokyo in 1588. It changed location several times, moving to

Yushima Tenman-gū Yushima may refer to: Places * Yushima Seidō , is a Confucian temple () in Yushima, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was established in end of the 17th century during the Genroku era of the Edo period. Towards the late Edo period, one of the mo ...

because of the

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established th ...

expansion in 1591. Finally in 1657 the

Great fire of Meireki The , also known as the Great Furisode Fire, destroyed 60–70% of Edo (now Tokyo), then ''de facto'' capital city of Japan, on 2 March 1657, the third year of the Meireki Era. The fire lasted for three days and, in combination with a severe b ...

burned down most of the temple and it was moved to the current area in Matsugaya. Historically, this area near Asakusa was prone to frequent flooding due to its proximity to the

Sumida River The is a river that flows through central Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi (in Kita-ku) and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers. It passes through the Kita, Adachi, Arak ...

, which would overflow its banks from Edo Bay. In the 1800s, a local umbrella and raincoat merchant named Kihachi Kappaya started an effort to create a system to reduce the amount of destructive flooding in the area. He invested his own capital to create embankments and a pedestrian bridge. There are several folktales about the building of this flood reduction setup that included controlled canal water drainage and bridge systems. Many tales describe Kihachi receiving assistance to complete this project from a

, the Japanese folklore figure. Other tales speak of impoverished samurai who would sell kappa raincoats near the bridge and that soldiers would hang their raincoats to dry near the bridge. It is on the site of the bridge in these tales that the current temple is said to be built. When Kihachi Kappaya died in 1814 he was buried at the temple, at this point also known as Kappaya Kawataro, another name for kappas and a joke meaning "kappa-selling kappa".

Modern

In modern times, the temple is mostly known by its nickname, Kappa-dera, in relation to its location in Kappabashi, where the name trace its origins to both the name of a raincoat merchant ( :ja:合羽) and the kappa folklore. The temple contains what is described as a mummified hand of a kappa. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with illustrations by artists such as

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

. Kappa statues and depictions in a variety of forms surround the neighborhood and shopping district near the temple. This area is known as Kappabashi and celebrates the kappa which they have made their mascot. The temple grounds are open daily to tourists, although the building is not open to the public. Cucumber offerings are often made to the kappas at the shrine, both to appease them and for businesses related to water.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{in lang, ja Buddhist temples in Tokyo Taitō Soto temples Kappa (folklore)