2.Daienzan Jurinji Temple

The more you know about the origins of this temple
the more you want to explore its history

　Jurinji Temple is known as the temple where Yoshishige Otomo Yoshishige became a monk and took the name Sorin. It is said that the temple was built here after Suwa-jinja Shrine (originally on this spot) was moved. The original Jurinji Temple was destroyed by fire when Satsuma troops overran it in 1586. The present-day temple was built to be the villa for the lord of the Usuki Domain, and was turned over to private ownership after the start of the Showa Era (1926-1989). There is a theory that it was the site of Japan’s first noviciado*, and has been the object of attention as a place where multiple faiths, Christianity, Buddhism, and Shinto, have overlapped. Being a villa, it has a different appearance from standard Buddhist temples, but it is indispensable to discussions about the history of Usuki from the Otomo Clan to the Inaba Clan.

*Housing for trainee Christian priests