Erin-ji Temple

Erin-ji was established in 1330 by the monk Kokushi Musō Soseki and became the dedicated funerary temple (bodaiji) of the Takeda clan, culminating in its role as the resting place of Takeda Shingen following his death in 1573. The temple burned during Oda Nobunaga's 1582 campaign against the Takeda but was rebuilt, and its main hall, gate, and kuri kitchen quarters today are registered Important Cultural Properties. A dry landscape garden attributed to Musō Soseki, one of Japan's most celebrated garden designers, sits behind the abbot's quarters and is considered one of the finer surviving Muromachi-period gardens in the Chubu region. Shingen's grave itself is normally closed to public entry but opens on the 12th of each month, the anniversary of his death, while the adjoining Uguisu-bari ('nightingale floor') corridor, designed to creak audibly to warn of intruders, can be walked year-round leading toward the memorial. The temple grounds are quiet and largely uncrowded outside the monthly grave-opening date, offering a contemplative counterpoint to Kofu's more visited Takeda sites.