Konzenji Temple in Tsuruga: Fukui

Konzenji Temple is located at the foot of Mt. Kanegasaki, which has a commanding view of the port of Tsuruga. Since it was on the way to Kanegasaki Shrine and the Castle Ruins, I decided to drop by without knowing its significance. As it turned out, this temple was once located in the place where Kanegasaki Shrine now stands, and when the fierce battle was fought between the Ashikaga Army (Northern Court) and the Nitta Army (Southern Court) in 1337, this temple was made the headquarters of the Nitta Army! Konzenji was founded more than a millennium ago, in 736, by Taicho, and received visits from both Kobo-Daishi (Kukai) in 811 and the famous poet Matsuo Basho in 1689 (please see this other photo story). In 1662, the temple was moved to the current location, but centuries later all temple buildings were destroyed by bombings during WWII, thus, every building here is relatively new.