Jōkenji Temple (浄見寺) and the Ōoka Echizen Festival (大岡越前祭)

Jokenji Temple

Sign inscribed "窓月山" on the sanmon

Jokenji Temple (浄見寺) is a Buddhist temple (Jodo Shu) founded in 1611, located in the Tsutsumi area of Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, close to the Chigasaki City Museum (茅ヶ崎市博物館) and the Former Residential House of the Wadas (旧和田家住宅). While the sign behind the sanmon (temple gate) attributes the temple's founding to Ooka Tadayo (大岡忠世) (1576–1641), the third head of the Ooka clan, the websites of the city of Chigasaki and the Chigasaki City Museum state that the temple was founded by Ooka Tadamasa (大岡忠政) (1548–1629), the second head, in honor of his father, Ooka Tadakatsu (大岡忠勝) (1522–1594).

The temple's sango, "窓月山" (Sogetsusan), and jigo, "浄見寺" (Jokenji), are said to be derived from four characters of Tadakatsu's posthumous name, "大綱院殿忠誉窓月浄見大居士."

Former Residential House of the Mitsuhashis

To the south of the temple lies a small Zen garden, alongside the Former Residential House of the Mitsuhashis (旧三橋家住宅).

The temple has served as the bodaiji (a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead) of the Ooka Family and contains 58 graves spanning 13 generations, including that of Ooka Tadasuke (大岡忠相) (1677–1752), commonly known as Ooka Echizen (大岡越前). He served as a machi-bugyo (samurai officials) of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) during the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751) and is widely respected for his incorruptible judgment. He was the main character of the long-running TV series "Ooka Echizen," which aired from 1970 to 1999.

Graves (from the left) of Ooka Tadasuke, Tadazane, Tadayo, Tadamasa, and Tadakatsu

Jokenji Jimoto Matsuri

In 1912, he was posthumously honored with the rank of Jushi-i (Junior Fourth Rank). The following year, an honor ceremony was held at his gravesite. This event later evolved into the Ooka Echizen Festival (大岡越前祭), one of the major events held in Chigasaki, typically in April. On the festival's first day, a grand memorial service takes place at the temple, accompanied by the Jokenji Jimoto Matsuri (浄見寺地元まつり), a local festival organized by residents nearby. On the second day, a parade is held around Chigasaki Station.

This year, the Ooka Echizen Festival was held on April 20 and 21.