Reiyukai’s temple

Reiyukai is one of Japan’s new religious movements, founded in 1925 by Kakutarō Kubo and Kimi Kotani, arising out of the Nichiren strand of Buddhist reformism. The movement also calls itself Inner Trip Reiyukai (ITR). With a following of 5 million people, the lay movement is devoted to the Lotus Sutra and ancestor veneration, insisting on individual development and volunteerism.

Their main temple, Reiyukai Shakaden, was built in 1975 by Takenaka Corporation in Azabudai neighborhood, close from Tokyo Tower. It’s sandwiched between high office towers and small houses in a side street, making it weirdly discreet despite being massive. In Japanese, “Shakaden” means the “House of Shakyamuni”, the other name of Buddha. Interestingly, as Reiyukai Buddhism has at its roots in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, the temple houses a reservoir with close to 12 000 gallons of drinking water in the event that Tokyo is struck by another major disaster.

Somewhere between an Aztec temple or a James Bond villain headquarter, this pyramidal building looks like a spaceship more than a traditional Japanese temple. Its roof spans an area of 50×100 meters and is covered with dark colored stainless steel. The dark granite exteriors with red granite stairs lead to impressive interiors with more shiny granite and ornamented ceilings. The temple is open to visitors and consists of a Main Hall that can seat 3,500 people, the Kotani Hall, a Plaza, a golden altar with a 26 feet high statue of Buddha, various conference rooms, a cafeteria, a child care room, and a nurse’s office. This Inner Trip temple is definitely worth the trip to Japan.