Kanei-ji

Buddhist temple · Taitō

Kanei-ji

Buddhist temple · Taitō

1

1 Chome-14-11 Uenosakuragi, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0002, Japan

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Kanei-ji by Hermit09 (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Fred Cherrygarden (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Hermit09 (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Hermit09 (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Hermit09 (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Hermit09 (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Hermit09 (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Fred Cherrygarden (Atlas Obscura User)
Kanei-ji by Hermit09 (Atlas Obscura User)
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Highlights

Nestled near Ueno Park, Kan'eiji is a tranquil Buddhist temple boasting a stunning 5-story pagoda and serene gardens, perfect for a peaceful retreat.  

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1 Chome-14-11 Uenosakuragi, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0002, Japan Get directions

kaneiji.jp
@kaneiji_tokyo_ueno

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1 Chome-14-11 Uenosakuragi, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0002, Japan Get directions

+81 3 3821 4440
kaneiji.jp
@kaneiji_tokyo_ueno

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Last updated

Jul 4, 2025

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@atlasobscura

"Close to Tokyo’s Ueno Park, the Kan’ei-ji temple is a quiet pagoda far removed from the hustle and bustle of the park’s top tourists draws, its zoo and museums. Few visitors stop by, and most of those who do come for its historical significance: It was here in 1869 that supporters of the Emperor attacked the forces of the last Tokugawa shogun. It’s said there are still bullet holes in the temple’s wooden walls. But, even more remarkably, the temple is home to a simple engraved stone — a memorial to the souls of dead insects. In 1821, aristocrat Sessai Matsuyma ordered the erection of the monument. Its purpose was to console the spirits of the flies, crickets, and grasshoppers that had been killed in the production of a scientific text — an anatomical study of insects that Matsuyama himself had commissioned. Although the book, the Chuchi-jo, would become famous for its realistic rendering of the insects, it seems Matsuyama was plagued by guilt at having caused the deaths of so many fellow living creatures. Or perhaps he simply wanted to honor the bugs for their contribution. Today, the simple monument he built to honor insects sacrificed for science is designated as a historical monument by the Tokyo City government." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

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Glen

Google
Interesting temple. The first and biggest of the 7. You can do a mini pilgrimage here that will guide you to the other shrines at Ueno park. This a good place to start. (see pics for more details on the pilgrimage). They also have a nice large sized goshuincho (for those of you that do not like to folder your special 2 paged goshuins!!) priced at 3300Yen. See pictures for what it looks like (a nice cool blue). Their goshuins are handwritten. 500 Yen.

Bjorn K.

Google
Visited in May around 16:00, there was no crowd at all. It's quite a walk from Ueno park, so I was somewhat disappointed that there was no place to sit. Regardless it's definitely worth a visit.

Durvank Yewle

Google
A very peaceful place. Visited this in April second week and the atmosphere was so serene, I could literally listen the wind hustling in and out Beautiful cherry blossom trees provide different gradients to surrounding. The lamps towards entrance remind of older times, simpler times Btw, I guess they have a kindergarten right across the street, do check it out. The calm of shrine combined with kids playing (also there is some sweet music going on in kindergarten) = a very soothing 20 mins. I left with a wide smile on my face :)

The Foodie (Sir Diggeti)

Google
Walked past this Temple. Interesting that a school is located within the Temple grounds. It's pretty big but I didn't have enough time to walk it all as I had to leave. But what I saw, it looked beautiful.

James Mulhern

Google
This temple was great. The wooden construction was exquisite. The koy ponds were very nice as well.

Urban Traveler

Google
Another gorgeous buddhist temple worth a visit. Always crowded,even weekdays

Diego Araga

Google
We went here on a Thursday afternoon and unfortunately, we didn't see the 5-storey Pagoda because many places were closed. The place was very peaceful

Pang Cheung Sze

Google
The wooden temple is very peaceful and surrounded by a tranquil garden with old trees.

Toshiyuki O.

Yelp
Kan-eiji temple belongs Tendaishu. This is the grand head temple of temples built in Ueno-Onshi park. There is the building as the main temple called Konpon Chu-do temple in this precincts, and it is the real main building of temples belongs Kan-eiji in Ueno. Actually, Kiyomizu Kannon-do temple, Shinobazunoike Bentendo temple and Ueno-Daibutsu temple in Ueno-Onshi park are outer auxiliary temples of this Kan-eiji. This head temple is located on the north side from Ueno-Onshi park. The nearest station is Uguisudani station of JR Yamanote line and JR Keihin-Tohoku line. It takes approximately 10 minutes by walking from the station. We can get inside the main temple called Konpon Chu-do temple. The inside has the mysterious atmosphere and very glorious interiors. We can get "Goshuin" (handwritten sign and stamp of temples and shrines) at here. They offer it at the reception desk on the left side in the main temple called Konpon Chu-do temple. It charges 500. And they gave me a charm called Sange with Goshuin. Details about Goshuin is below. http://60ee3107.starfree.jp/goshuin.html 寛永寺は上野にある天台宗の寺院です。 本堂である根本中堂があるここは上野恩賜公園一体にある寛永寺に属する清水観音堂、不忍池辯天堂、上野大仏の総本山になります。 場所は上野恩賜公園から少し離れた北側にあります。 上野と言うよりも、JR山手線、京浜東北線の鶯谷駅の方が近い場所にあります。 鶯谷駅からは徒歩で約10分です。 誰でも本堂の中に入って参拝する事が出来ます。 中は都内にありながら物静かで厳かな雰囲気が流れています。 御朱印は根本中堂の中、左側にある札場で頂戴する事が出来ます。 志納金は500円です。 また、御朱印と共に散華も下さいました。 御朱印については下記のリンク先にまとめてあります。 http://60ee3107.starfree.jp/goshuin.html