Saikoji Temple is a historic temple of the Jodo school of Buddhism in Nagano City. Its mountain name is Karukayazan, while its formal name is Jakusho-in. The temple’s principal object of worship is the Karukaya Parent-and-Child Jizo, and Saikoji is also famous for its tradition of e-toki, the practice of explaining Buddhist stories and teachings through illustrated scrolls.
Locally, the temple is affectionately known as Karukayasan. The name has become deeply rooted in the community and is even used for nearby bus stops and intersections.
Saikoji is closely associated with the Legend of Karukaya, a moving story that has been passed down for centuries through Noh theater, narrative Buddhist performances, and other forms of traditional Japanese storytelling.
The central figure of the story is Kato Saemon-no-jo Shigeuji, who is said to have served as governor of six provinces in Kyushu. After realizing the impermanence of worldly life, he renounced his secular life and became a Buddhist monk known as Karukaya Doshin, also called Jakusho-bo Tōa. He traveled to Mount Koya to devote himself to religious practice.
After his departure from worldly life, his son Ishidomaru was born. Ishidomaru and his mother later traveled to Mount Koya in search of his father. Because women were prohibited from entering the mountain’s sacred precincts, his mother remained at its foot while Ishidomaru went on alone.
There, Ishidomaru encountered a monk whom he suspected might be his father. He asked the monk whether he was his father, but Karukaya Doshin had vowed to sever his ties with his former worldly life. Despite his emotions, he concealed his identity and told the boy that his father had died.
When Ishidomaru returned down the mountain, he discovered that his mother had already passed away. He later returned to Mount Koya and became a disciple of the very monk who was actually his father. The two are said to have practiced together for 34 years without revealing their true relationship.
According to the legend, Karukaya Doshin eventually received a revelation from the Amida Buddha of Zenkoji and traveled to Shinano Province. Near Zenkoji Temple, he built a small hermitage. This is traditionally regarded as the origin of Saikoji Temple.
Karukaya Doshin spent approximately 14 years in this area and is said to have died at the age of 83.
When Ishidomaru eventually learned of his father’s death, he traveled to Saikoji and established a memorial at his father’s grave. Tradition also tells that Ishidomaru died on August 24, the same date as his father.
Saikoji preserves two Jizo Bodhisattva statues traditionally believed to have been carved separately by Karukaya Doshin and Ishidomaru. Together, they are known as the Karukaya Parent-and-Child Jizo and have attracted the devotion of worshippers for generations.
The temple also preserves an illustrated scroll known as the “Illustrated Story of Karukaya Doshin and Ishidomaru”. Through the traditional practice of e-toki, the images are shown and explained to visitors, bringing the story to life through a uniquely Japanese form of visual storytelling.
The foundation of Saikoji is traditionally dated to 1199. According to temple tradition, Karukaya Doshin came down from Mount Koya following the guidance of the Amida Buddha of Zenkoji and established a small hermitage here.
The temple also has a connection with Shinran, the founder of the Jodo Shinshu tradition. On his return journey from Echigo, Shinran is said to have visited Saikoji and stayed there for 50 days.
Tradition further states that Shinran and Karukaya climbed Mount Togakushi together and jointly created an image of the Amida Buddha Trinity.
After falling into decline over the centuries, the temple was revived when the monk Gakuen rebuilt the main hall in 1376.
During the Edo period, Saikoji became known for traveling religious exhibitions called degaicho. The temple’s sacred objects were taken to different parts of Japan on approximately ten occasions, where the story of Karukaya and Ishidomaru was presented through e-toki.
In 1769, three families from Saku District donated land to the temple, helping revive the tradition of continuous Buddhist chanting and devotional practice.
During the late Edo period, a temporary structure that had once served as Zenkoji’s main hall was donated to Saikoji. This reflects the close historical relationship between the two temples.
Saikoji also has an unusual connection with Japan’s industrial history. During the Meiji period, one of Japan’s earliest oil refineries was established within the temple grounds, adding an unexpected industrial chapter to the temple’s long religious history.
The main hall was rebuilt several times over the centuries and eventually took its present form. The tradition of e-toki has also survived, with the illustrated scroll restored in 1989 and continuing to serve as an important link to the temple’s storytelling heritage.
The Main Hall is the heart of Saikoji. It houses the Karukaya Parent-and-Child Jizo and is the principal setting for the temple’s e-toki presentations.
The Karukaya-zuka is traditionally regarded as the burial place of Karukaya Doshin, Ishidomaru, and Ishidomaru’s mother, Chisato-no-Gozen. The mound provides a physical link to the moving family story that has made the temple famous.
Jiko-mon Gate: The present gate was built in 1979.
Daishido, also called Entsuden: A hall dedicated to Kobo Daishi, the revered founder of Shingon Buddhism.
Tamatori Inari Shrine: A small Shinto shrine within the temple grounds that is worshipped as a guardian deity of the temple.
Basho Monument: A stone monument commemorating a haiku by Matsuo Basho, regarded as the oldest Basho haiku monument in Nagano Prefecture.
Issa Haiku Monument: A stone inscribed with a haiku in the handwriting of the famous poet Kobayashi Issa: “In the world of flowers, even the Buddha has a parent and child.”
The grounds also contain statues of the Six Jizo and Buddhist stone monuments inscribed with sacred six-character invocations associated with the monk Tokujū.
Another unusual legend associated with Saikoji concerns a great serpent said to have lived on Mount Asahiyama.
In 1786, a woodcutter named Nakabei is said to have killed a large serpent while cutting trees on the mountain. He displayed the creature as a spectacle and made money from it. According to the legend, he and members of his family subsequently died one after another, while illness spread through the local community.
The events were interpreted as the serpent’s curse. Local residents therefore built a memorial mound at Saikoji to appease and honor its spirit. The mound became known as the Asahiyama Great Serpent Mound.
Local tradition holds that moving the mound would bring misfortune, and it has remained near the entrance to the temple grounds even after the Second World War. The story offers a glimpse into traditional Japanese beliefs concerning the relationship between people, nature, spirits, and the need to respectfully commemorate the dead.
Saikoji Temple is a place where Buddhist faith, local folklore, traditional performing arts, and the history of Nagano come together. At its heart is the poignant story of Karukaya Doshin and Ishidomaru, a father and son who spent decades together without revealing their true relationship.
The temple grounds contain memorial mounds, stone monuments, Buddhist images, historic buildings, and other traces of the past. The continuing tradition of e-toki makes Saikoji especially distinctive, allowing visitors to experience how stories and religious teachings were communicated through pictures and spoken explanation.
For travelers interested in Japanese Buddhism, traditional storytelling, samurai-era history, or the legends surrounding Zenkoji, Saikoji offers a quiet and deeply atmospheric place to explore. A visit here provides an opportunity to step beyond the famous landmarks of Nagano and encounter the stories that have shaped the spiritual culture of the region.