Sacred sites in Japan
Buddhism

Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple

Nichiren Buddhism worship and living sacred practice at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple

Ota City, Tokyo, Japan

Plan this visit

Practical context before you go

Duration

Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.

Access

1-chōme-1-1 Ikegami, Ota City, Tokyo 146-8576. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.

Etiquette

Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.

At a glance

Coordinates
35.5788, 139.7052
Type
Buddhist Temple
Suggested duration
Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
Access
1-chōme-1-1 Ikegami, Ota City, Tokyo 146-8576. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.

Pilgrim tips

  • Wear modest clothing and remove footwear wherever signs or attendants request it. Do not cross altar barriers or enter monastic and residential rooms.
  • Assume that principal images, inner halls, funerals, and private prayer are not for photography unless the temple explicitly permits it.
  • Do not improvise ritual, promise spiritual results, interrupt prayer, or handle devotional objects without invitation.
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Overview

Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple (日蓮宗 大本山 池上本門寺) is an active Nichiren Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference evidence, and a rights-cleared image of the site. Visit as a guest of a worshipping community: observe posted boundaries, keep rites and prayer unobstructed, and verify changing access information with the institution.

Ikegami Honmon-ji (池上本門寺) is a temple of the Nichiren Shū south of Tokyo, erected where Nichiren is said to have died. A short walk from Ikegami Station (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) or Nishi-Magome Station (Toei Asakusa Line), Ikegami Honmon-ji contains a number of buildings, most of which have been reconstructed since the bombing of 15 March 1945. They include the Important Cultural Property designated five-storey pagoda built in 1608, the kyōzō (経蔵, repository of religious writings) built in 1784, and the hōtō (宝塔), built in 1781 where Nichiren was cremated. Other buildings have been rebuilt, or newly constructed, since 1945. Now in Ōta-ku, suburban Tokyo, Ikegami Honmon-ji was at some distance from the city until the mid-20th century. Basil Hall Chamberlain and W. Pilgrim Map presents this site through documented identity and living religious practice, not through star ratings or promises of transformation. Architecture and historical associations can help orient a visit, but they do not replace the meaning made by worship, teaching, memorial practice, service, and care. Visitors should distinguish institutional tradition from independently documented history, especially where a foundation narrative, miraculous account, political memory, or popular origin claim is involved. Approach slowly, read the room before acting, and allow regular worshippers to set the pace.

Context and lineage

Ikegami Honmon-ji (池上本門寺) is a temple of the Nichiren Shū south of Tokyo, erected where Nichiren is said to have died. A short walk from Ikegami Station (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) or Nishi-Magome Station (Toei Asakusa Line), Ikegami Honmon-ji contains a number of buildings, most of which have been reconstructed since the bombing of 15 March 1945. They include the Important Cultural Property designated five-storey pagoda built in 1608, the kyōzō (経蔵, repository of religious writings) built in 1784, and the hōtō (宝塔), built in 1781 where Nichiren was cremated. Other buildings have been rebuilt, or newly constructed, since 1945. Now in Ōta-ku, suburban Tokyo, Ikegami Honmon-ji was at some distance from the city until the mid-20th century. Basil Hall Chamberlain and W.

Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple belongs to the living Nichiren Buddhism context documented by its institutional and exact-entity sources.

Why this place is sacred

A map can show the threshold of Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple; it cannot determine what the place means for every devotee. Quiet attention is more responsible than assigning a single mood, energy, or spiritual effect. Notice how people prepare to enter, where they pause, and which spaces remain protected, while avoiding imitation or intrusion.

The cited sources identify Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple as an exact Nichiren Buddhism institution and provide the bounded historical context summarized here.

The site's present form reflects continuity as well as rebuilding, institutional change, and the work of successive communities. Specific claims are limited to the cited record.

Traditions and practice

Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.

Current practice and participation at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple follow the institution's own guidance. Do not infer permission from what another visitor does.

Notice the threshold, the order of movement, and the care given to sacred objects without turning observation into performance.

Nichiren Buddhism

Active

Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple is an active Nichiren Buddhism place in Tokyo. Its sacred meaning belongs first to the worshipping community, its documented history, and its continuing care—not to popularity metrics.

Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.

Experience and perspectives

Begin with the site's present threshold rather than a checklist. Put away conversation and devices when worship is underway, yield to people making offerings or attending services, and accept closures without pressing for access. A respectful visit may be brief. Its value does not depend on witnessing a ceremony, entering every building, or producing photographs.

Use the official site and posted notices to distinguish public grounds from worship, residential, administrative, memorial, or conservation spaces.

Read Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple through its living Nichiren Buddhism community alongside documented history, architecture, and urban context.

Institutional and exact-entity sources establish identity and bound the historical account. Unresolved or contested claims remain explicitly attributed.

According to its tradition, sacred meaning is encountered through worship, teaching, remembrance, and the relationships sustained by the community.

No paranormal, medical, therapeutic, or guaranteed transformative effect is claimed.

Visit planning

1-chōme-1-1 Ikegami, Ota City, Tokyo 146-8576. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.

No lodging recommendation is made; use current, independent accessibility and accommodation information.

Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.

Wear modest clothing and remove footwear wherever signs or attendants request it. Do not cross altar barriers or enter monastic and residential rooms.

Assume that principal images, inner halls, funerals, and private prayer are not for photography unless the temple explicitly permits it.

Use only offering and donation channels authorized by Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple; never leave substitute objects or food without permission.

Respect barriers, private rooms, protected fabric, sacred interiors, and any temporary restriction announced by staff.

Plan your visit

Address

日本、〒146-8576 東京都大田区池上1丁目1−1

Hours

月曜日: 24 時間営業火曜日: 24 時間営業水曜日: 24 時間営業木曜日: 24 時間営業金曜日: 24 時間営業土曜日: 24 時間営業日曜日: 24 時間営業

Hours, fees, and access can change — verify on the official source before you travel. Practical details last checked Aug 2026.

Nearby sacred places

References

Sources consulted when researching this page. Independent verification by readers is welcome.

  1. 01池上本門寺ウェブサイト日蓮宗 大本山 池上本門寺high-reliability
  2. 02Ikegami Honmon-jiWikipedia contributors
  3. 03池上本門寺Japanese Wikipedia contributors
  4. 04Wikidata entity Q1537312Wikidata contributors
  5. 05Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple Google Maps place recordGoogle
  6. 06File:Ikegami Honmon-ji precincts.jpgWikimedia Commons contributors

Key questions

What pilgrims usually ask

Why is Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple considered sacred?
Visit Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple with verified historical context, living Nichiren Buddhism significance, practical access notes, respectful etiquette, and cited
What should I wear at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple?
Wear modest clothing and remove footwear wherever signs or attendants request it. Do not cross altar barriers or enter monastic and residential rooms.
Can I take photos at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple?
Assume that principal images, inner halls, funerals, and private prayer are not for photography unless the temple explicitly permits it.
How long should I spend at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple?
Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
How do you visit Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple?
1-chōme-1-1 Ikegami, Ota City, Tokyo 146-8576. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
What offerings are appropriate at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple?
Use only offering and donation channels authorized by Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple; never leave substitute objects or food without permission.
What etiquette should visitors follow at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple?
Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.
What is the history of Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple?
Ikegami Honmon-ji (池上本門寺) is a temple of the Nichiren Shū south of Tokyo, erected where Nichiren is said to have died. A short walk from Ikegami Station (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) or Nishi-Magome Station (Toei Asakusa Line), Ikegami Honmon-ji contains a number of buildings, most of which have been reconstructed since the bombing of 15 March 1945. They include the Important Cultural Property designated five-storey pagoda built in 1608, the kyōzō (経蔵, repository of religious writings) built in 1784, and the hōtō (宝塔), built in 1781 where Nichiren was cremated. Other buildings have been rebuilt, or newly constructed, since 1945. Now in Ōta-ku, suburban Tokyo, Ikegami Honmon-ji was at some distance from the city until the mid-20th century. Basil Hall Chamberlain and W.