100910-0021 - Higashi Honganji

Entrance gate of Higashi Honganji (東本願寺), a buddhist temple of the Jodo Shinshu sect located in Nishi-Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo.

The temple was founded in Kanda in 1651 (Keian 4). It was destroyed in the Great Meireki Fire (明暦の大火, Meireki Taika) of 1657 (Meireki 3), also known as the Furisode Kaji (振袖火事, Kimono Sleeve Fire), and rebuilt in Asakusa.

In 1914 (Taisho 3), the temple became a prisoner of war camp for 314 German POWs during WWI. The camp moved to Chiba Prefecture the following year.

The main hall was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 (Taisho 12). It was rebuilt as a ferro-concrete building in 1939 (Showa 14).

The interior of the main hall was burned down during a WWII US air raid in 1945 (Showa 20) and reconstructed in 1953 (Showa 28).