Yakushi Jinja (Yakushi Shrine)

Enshrined behind the Toki-no-Kane, this is the symbol of Kawagoe. It used to be Yakushido Temple, separately enshrined from Hitatinokuni province (present-day Ibaraki Prefecture) to be “Ichigami (guardian deity of the marketplace)” in the Genna Period. (Genna spanned 8 years, from 1615 to 1623.) In 1623, it was relocated to the present location and became a Tendaishu temple, called “Zuikousan Iou-in Jourenji.” Later, due to the “Shinto Butsuri (Shinto-Buddhism separation,)” it discontinued the service as a temple and persisted as a shinto shrine, Yakushi Jinja. After the Kawagoe Fire, only the Yakushi Statue was secured and the main shrine pavilion was destroyed. It was rebuilt to the present building the next year.