[Sunpu Castle Town (① The glory of the Imagawa clan and its temples and shrines)] (Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, former province name: Suruga)

Sunpu refers to Fuchu in Suruga Province (present-day eastern Shizuoka Prefecture), the capital of the province that became the foundation of today's Shizuoka City. It is said that the provincial government was established in Sunpu in the early 700s, and the city developed in a favorable location blessed with the waters of the Abe River. In the Middle Ages, the shugo daimyo Imagawa clan used this foundation to build a planned city, and Sunpu became a place where notable people who had escaped the ruined capital gathered, and it flourished as a rare cultural city in times of turmoil. However, after Yoshimoto was killed in the Battle of Okehazama, it gradually declined, and finally, in 1568, it was invaded by Takeda Shingen and reduced to ashes. After the fall of the Takeda clan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled Suruga Province, established his base in the newly built Sunpu Castle in 1586, and it has been valued as one of the most important bases of the Tokugawa clan ever since. The Imagawa clan, who led the development of Suruga, were relatives of the Ashikaga Shogunate and were a prestigious clan with the second highest status after the Kira clan. They achieved military success in various regions during the turbulent period of the Northern and Southern Courts, and when Norikuni (?-1384) was appointed as the guardian of Suruga and Totomi (present-day western Shizuoka Prefecture), the clan's base was passed down for generations. On the other hand, Sadayo (1326-?, known by his posthumous name Ryōshun), who achieved great success as the Kyushu Tandai under the third Shogun, Yoshimitsu, was renowned as one of the foremost cultural figures of the time, having written the Nan-Taiheiki (Record of the Great Peace), and the Imagawa clan cultivated its own unique culture from an early period. As the power of the Shogunate weakened and conflicts broke out in the eastern provinces, the Imagawa clan firmly governed their territories, and Ujichika (1471-1526), ​​head of the family in the early 16th century, was particularly renowned as a wise ruler. Ujichika lost his father at a young age and became embroiled in clan infighting, but with the support of his uncle, Ise Moritoki (?-1519, ancestor of the Odawara Hojo clan, later known as Hojo Soun), he overcame this and powerfully united his vassals to carry out domestic affairs and foreign campaigns. While regaining control over the Totomi province, which had once lost its power, he also worked to develop mines and promote culture. Furthermore, just before his death, he compiled the "Imagawa Kana Mokuroku" (Imagawa Kana Catalog), and aimed to transform the country into a unique "state governed by law" that transcended the position of shugo daimyo appointed by the Shogunate. This catalogue had a strong influence on later generations, and Ujichika's name went down in history as the de facto leader of the Sengoku daimyo. Ujichika's son, Yoshimoto, entered the monk's ordination at a young age due to the existence of his legitimate elder brother, Ujiteru (1513-1536). Ujichika invited the monk Taigen Sessai (1496-1555), from Suruga Province, from Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto to educate Yoshimoto. However, when Ujiteru suddenly died in 1536, a battle for succession broke out. Yoshimoto was victorious and returned to secular life to take over as head of the family, and Sessai also demonstrated his skill as the "black-robed prime minister." Yoshimoto inherited his father's base and actively sought to expand his territory, while updating the contents of the catalogue left by his father to reflect current times. As the "Imagawa Kana Mokuroku Supplement," he implemented advanced domestic policy and established strong productivity and military power in Suruga. Yoshimoto later met an unexpected end in the Battle of Okehazama, but the way he ruled his territory is undoubtedly highly regarded as that of a wise ruler. Many historical sites of the Imagawa clan remain in Shizuoka City today. Zozenji (photos 2-4), Ujichika's family temple, is an ancient temple dating back to the Nara period, which Ujichika restored as a Soto Zen temple. The approach from the mountain gate to the main hall is lined with trees and simple stone paving, creating an atmosphere of solemn Zen. It is located in a valley in the mountains across the Abe River from the city center, and Ujichika's grave is located on a high spot at the back of the temple grounds, and its tranquility is so great that you forget that this is close to the center of a government-designated city. Rinzai-ji Temple (Photos 1, 5-10), located about 2.5 km northwest of Sunpu Castle Park, is Yoshimoto's family temple and the historic place where he trained under Sessai. The temple buildings, strategically arranged along the slope of Mt. Shizuhata, are imposing and imposing on pilgrims, yet harmonize beautifully with the beauty of the fresh greenery behind them. During Sessai's tenure, the status of the temple improved dramatically through the influence of both him and Yoshimoto, and it has become a large temple with a famous garden with a pond and a stroll-through style garden to this day. There are many temple treasures worth seeing, including a wooden statue of Yoshimoto and a portrait of Sessai, as well as the footsteps of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was held hostage by the Imagawa clan as a child and was taught by Sessai. Although Ieyasu was a hostage, he had the opportunity to see the cutting-edge governing system of the time and its key figures, and witnessed the prosperity of Sunpu with his own eyes. This may have had a strong influence on the way he would later rule the country. *Rinzai Temple is usually closed to the public. It is only open to the public on May 19th, the anniversary of Yoshimoto's death, and on October 15th, the festival day of Marishiten. Recommended for solo travelers: ★★★ (There are a fair number of people, but it's a large place so it doesn't bother you) Visit date: Around 1pm on the third Sunday of May #Rinzai Temple #Masuzenji Temple #Sunpu #Shizuoka Trip #Shizuoka Tourism #Shizuoka Prefecture Tourism #Shizuoka Energetic Trip #Shizuoka City #picshiz #Domestic Travel Lover #Temple Lover