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Togenuki Jizoson Koganji Temple - Tokyo Hotels .com

Togenuki Jizoson Koganji Temple, Tokyo

Koganji Temple -- now popularly known Togenuki Jizoson -- is a Soto Buddhist temple first established in the Yushima area. Hundreds of years later it was moved to its present location in Sugamo. The Togenuki Jizoson gets its nickname from a legend about a maid who mistakenly swallowed a needle and retrieved it by eating a piece of paper with a picture of Jizo (Buddhist monk) on it.

The temple holds a grand festival known as the Togenuki Jizoson Taisai three times a year, on the 24th of January, May, and September. At this event, nearly 20 monks read the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra at unbelievable speed and worshippers come out to pray for wish fulfillment and business success.

The Koganji Temple is a five-minute walk from the JR Sugamo station within the bustling streets of the Sugamo neighborhood.