Sokenji Temple, in Shiga Prefecture, was incorporated into Oda Nobunaga's grandiose Azuchi Castle, and actually pre-dated the castle, which was completed in 1579.
Located near the shores of Lake Biwa, the original three-storey pagoda was built in 1554 and is believed to have been moved from Chojuji Temple in Koga (甲賀, Koka) to its present location.
Sokenji Temple escaped the fires that ravaged and destroyed Azuchi Castle in 1582. After Nobunaga's death at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto at the hands of the traitor Akechi Mitsuhide, his second son Nobukatsu clashed with Akechi's retainers and during the subsequent skirmish between the two sides the great seven-storey tenshu (keep) of Azuchi Castle was burnt to the ground.
The temple belongs to the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism and is a 30-minute walk from Azuchi Station on the JR Biwako Line.
There is also a Sokenji Temple in Nagoya city in Osu Kannon.
Map of Sokenji Temple at Azuchi Castle
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