Sainenji Temple 西念寺

Official explanation

The exact date of Sainenji Temple’s construction is unknown. It is clear, however, that the temple was originally located on the outermost grounds of Toba Castle before it was moved to its present location. Sainenji was the patron temple of the Naito family, hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa family who were granted control of Toba after the Kuki family. Many of the buildings in the temple grounds are decorated with wisteria, the motif of the Naito family crest.

The graves of the Naito family and their retainers are located on a hilltop behind the temple. Sainenji is also the location of the grave of Tachibana Munatada (d. 1605), the ruler of Toba before the region was granted to Kuki Yoshitaka by the powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga. Though ousted from power, Munatada successfully offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to Kuki Yoshitaka, and became a retainer to the Kuki family.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.