At the end of the Sengoku Jidai, the medieval “warring states” period, the Seigan-ji in Tera-machi, Kyoto, was an important temple, sponsored by one of Hideyoshi’s concubines. At that time it was a much larger complex than it is today, with several halls, a pagoda and a gate with a unique architecture. Unfortunately, most of its buildings burned down in a large fire in 1788.

However, a perfect copy of that unique gate, called the Tsuru-kame (Crane and Turtle) gate, was built during the Edo Period, and survived until today far away from Kyoto, in Hirosaki, at the temple with the same name, Seigan-ji.

Seigan-ji Temple Gate, Hirosaki, Aomori

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Interior of a samurai school, Mito Kodokan