Kai Zenkō-ji 甲斐善光寺（定額山浄智院善光寺）
You clap your hands beneath the painted ceiling and the ‘singing dragon’ answers with an echo.
Founded in 1558 by Takeda Shingen, who feared the destruction of the true Zenkō-ji of Shinano during the battles of Kawanakajima and had its principal Amida Buddha (bronze, Important Cultural Property) brought here along with other treasures. The statue returned to Nagano in 1597; the present one, a copy, is still the focus of worship. The main hall, rebuilt between 1787 and 1801 in the double-roofed style of Zenkōji temples, measures 38.15 by 23.06 metres and is 26.06 metres high (among the largest wooden buildings in eastern Japan), and together with the gate (山門) it is a national Important Cultural Property.
Yamanashi
Zenkoji
