Zuishoin Temple

Formerly known as Kodaiyama Honkakuji Temple, Zuishoin Temple was built by Ryusoji Iehara, who defeated the Kamachi Clan to take over Yanagawa Castle at the end of the Sengoku era, to serve as the family temple for Takahime, the daughter of his master Nabeshima Naoshige. In 1587, it was relocated to its current location by Tachibana Muneshige, who was named lord of Yanagawa Castle by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hachihime, Muneshige’s wife after the death of Ginchiyo, was from the Yarishima family. The family was in the service of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the 15th Ashikaga shogun, at the end of the Muromachi era, and upon her marriage, her younger brother, Yarishima Shigenari, came to serve under Muneshige. The Yarishimas would go on to serve as chief retainers to the Tachibana clan for generations. 　Hachihime passed away in the Shitaya neighborhood of Edo (old Tokyo) in 1624. Her hair was buried at Honkakuji Temple, and the name of the temple was changed to Zuishoin, which was Hachihime’s posthumous name. The temple is home to the remains of a pagoda that was erected on the 33rd anniversary of Hachihime’s death and other monuments. In the town below Yanagawa Castle, in the northwestern part of what used to be Yanagawa Town, there are many temples associated with the ruling Tachibana family, the Tanaka family, which ruled the domain for two generations after the Battle of Sekigahara, and the chief retainers of both families. In addition to Zuishoin Temple, the area is home to Ryoseiji Temple (the family temple of Ginchiyo), Tensoji Temple (the family temple of Tachibana Muneshige’s biological father Takahashi Shigetane), Gyokujuin Temple (built by Tanaka Yoshimasa’s chief retainer Miyakawa Sado; later, the family temple of Nagahime, wife of Tachibana Tadashige, second lord of the domain), Daishoin Temple (where the mortuary tablet of Ono Noriyuki, chief retainer of Tadashige was enshrined; later, where Naizenshi Masatoshi, biological brother of Tadashige, was buried) and Ho’onji Temple (which Tadashige is said to have relocated here). Temples associated with the Tanaka family include Kokiji Temple, Myosonji Temple and Myokeiji Temple. As this shows, these temples, because of their association with the ruling Tachibana and Tanaka families and their relatives and retainers, are steeped in history.