Special Exhibition "Nagoya Castle and Souji Temple - The Woman Who Loved Ieyasu, Souji Temple" | Nagoya Castle
Exhibitions
Soo-in Okame-no-kata (1573-1642) was a heroine who built the foundations of the Owari Tokugawa clan. After losing her first husband, she lived with Tokugawa Ieyasu and gave birth to Yoshinao, who would later become the first lord of the Owari clan. Okame-no-kata cared for Yoshinao along with Ieyasu in Sunpu Castle in his later years, and when he died, she shaved her head, took the name Soo-in, and moved into Nagoya Castle to support Yoshinao. Soo-in passed away in 1642, and the following year, Houkisan Soo-ji Temple was built below Nagoya Castle as her family temple.
Soo-ji Temple was moved from its original location in Higashi-ku to its current location in Chikusa-ku in 1932, but images of Soo-in Temple painted by Yoshinao have been passed down, and valuable paintings on the cedar doors dating back to the temple's founding still remain. In 2024, the paintings, Buddhist paintings, and statues owned by Souji Temple, as well as the main hall, main gate, and mountain gate, were designated as tangible cultural properties by the city of Nagoya. To commemorate this, the temple treasures of Souji Temple, centered on the sliding screen paintings, will be open to the public. Please enjoy the luxurious space that surrounded Souji Temple during his lifetime.