Buddhist temple
Hongan-ji Chikamatsu Betsuin
本願寺近松別院（ほんがんじちかまつべついん）
Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture
A branch temple (betsuin) of the Jōdo Shinshū Hongan-ji-ha at Fudanotsuji, Ōtsu City, and a historic site associated with Rennyo Shōnin. It was formerly named Chikamatsuzan Kenshō-ji, and it enshrines a wooden statue of Amida Nyorai as its principal image.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
Prayers associated with this place
Principal image: Amida Nyorai (wooden statue)
History and things to know
According to the temple's guide, after Hongan-ji at Higashiyama Ōtani in Kyoto met with disaster in Kanshō 6 (1465), Rennyo Shōnin moved to the area south of the lake, and in Bunmei 1 (1469) he built a hall here and named it Kenshō-ji; this was its beginning. It is said to have effectively been Hongan-ji for about ten years, until Hongan-ji was rebuilt at Yamashina. Its main hall was dismantled during the war and rebuilt in Shōwa 56.
Introduced by this site, based on materials from the shrine or temple and public bodies.
Related kami and buddhas
Before you visit
It is a branch temple in Ōtsu City, separate from Hongan-ji (the head temple) in Kyoto.
Official website of the shrine or temple (may be in Japanese)
Sources (in Japanese)
- 本願寺近松別院「御祭神・御本尊・由緒の公式案内」（2026-10-22 確認）
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