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Shibamata Taishakuten (柴又帝釈天), officially known as Daikyō-ji (題経寺), is a Nichiren-shū Buddhist temple in Katsushika, Tokyo, famous for its hidden gallery, which exhibits intricate, decades-old Buddhist reliefs.

Shibamata Taishakuten (柴又帝釈天)



The Nichiren Buddhist temple of Daikyō-ji is the main attraction of Shibamata in Tokyo, commonly referred to as Shibamata Taishakuten and famously associated with the long-running It's Tough Being a Man film franchise, which is set in the area. Established in 1629, with its current building dating to 1915, the complex is quite famous for its quaint atmosphere and the traditional shopping street that leads up to it, full of food stalls and historic restaurants serving freshwater fish. The temple's often-overlooked centrepiece is the sculpture gallery, a hidden gem that can be found at the back of its inner hall. It exhibits wood carvings and reliefs created by ten artisans over twelve years from 1922 to 1934, covering the hall's eastern, western, and northern walls. To preserve the sculptures, the gallery is completely encased within glass walls, making a unique art space—outside and inside at the same time. The gallery is well-known for the reliefs depicting ten Buddhist scenes taken from the Lotus Sutra scripture, each carved out of a single block of zelkova wood, an Asian tree often used in bonsai. These include the parables of the Burning House, the Dragon King's Daughter, and the Appearance of the Stupa. There are also numerous carvings of turtles and cranes, considered lucky animals in East Asia, and reliefs of the Chinese zodiac and celestial maidens.




Shibamata Taishakuten

Shibamata Taishakuten

Daikyō-ji (題経寺), popularly known as Shibamata Taishakuten (柴又帝釈天), is a Nichiren-shū Buddhist temple in Katsushika, Tokyo. Founded in 1629, the main image is of Taishakuten. In 1996 the Ministry of the Environment designated the temple and its ferryboat as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan. In...
 
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