On the Setagaya Line: From Gotoku-ji Temple's Beckoning Cats to the Daikan Residence, Shoin-jinja Shrine, and Sangenjaya

Board the Tokyu Setagaya Line at Sangenjaya Station, get off at Miyanosaka Station, and begin your walk from Gotoku-ji Temple, which is associated with the lore of the maneki-neko (beckoning cat). This walking course takes you to the thatched Daikan Residence where the magistrates of the Hikone Domain once lived, Shoin-jinja Shrine which enshrines Yoshida Shoin, and finishes with a stroll through the town of Sangenjaya.

History and Local Appeal

Both the temple and the residence along this course have ties to the medieval Kira clan of Setagaya. According to tradition, Gotoku-ji Temple traces its beginnings to 1480, when Kira Masatada, the lord of Setagaya Castle, built a hermitage called Kotoku-in for his aunt. The Oba family, who preserved the Daikan Residence, were also senior vassals of the Setagaya Kira clan.

In 1633 during the Edo period, Setagaya became the territory of the Hikone Domain. The ruling Ii clan designated Kotoku-in as their family temple in Edo, later renaming it Gotoku-ji. From the mid-Edo period, the Oba family hereditarily served as daikan (magistrates) overseeing the 20 villages of the Hikone Domain's Setagaya territory, and their official residence is today's Daikan Residence.

Setagaya is also the resting place of two figures connected to the Ansei Purge at the end of the Edo period. The Ansei Purge was an event in which the shogunate's Tairo (Chief Minister) Ii Naosuke and others suppressed opponents of their policies. Formally, the punishments were carried out under the shogun's orders, but it is said that Naosuke actually issued all the orders himself. Naosuke's grave is located at Gotoku-ji Temple. Yoshida Shoin was implicated in this Ansei Purge and was executed in 1859 at the young age of 30. Four years later, his disciples Takasugi Shinsaku, Ito Hirobumi, and others reinterred Shoin's remains in the Wakabayashi area of Setagaya, and in 1882, a shrine was built beside the grave. This is Shoin-jinja Shrine.

At the end of the course, Sangenjaya owes its name to the three tea houses (sangen-jaya) that stood at the junction of the Oyama-michi trail, where pilgrims on the Oyama pilgrimage came and went during the Edo period. Following the stations of the Setagaya Line allows you to trace Setagaya's history step by step—from a 15th-century hermitage to an Edo magistrate's residence, the graves of Bakumatsu-era patriots, and a town on an old travelers' road.

Main Highlights

• ​Gotoku-ji Temple​​: At Gotoku-ji Temple, the cat that invited good fortune is called "maneki-neko" (written with characters meaning "cat that beckons good fortune"). Beside the Shofukuden hall, rows of maneki-neko of various sizes are lined up, dedicated by people whose wishes have come true. Distinctively, they raise their right paw and do not hold an oval gold coin (koban). In the three-story pagoda consecrated in 2006, several cats are carved alongside the twelve signs of the zodiac. The Ii family cemetery is designated as a National Historic Site, together with Seiryo-ji Temple in Hikone and other locations.
• ​Daikan Residence​​: This is the only daikan residence from a daimyo domain surviving in Tokyo, and it was designated as a Tokyo Metropolitan Historic Site in 1952. Two thatched buildings—the main residence (omoya) with a hipped roof and the nagayamon front gate—are National Important Cultural Properties. Stepping up into the entrance of the main residence leads to an 18-tatami-mat "hiroma" (grand room); to its west are the "yakusho-no-ma" (office room) and "tsugi-no-ma" (next room), which served as the magistrate's offices.
• ​Shoin-jinja Shrine​​: The cemetery on the precinct contains the gravestone of Yoshida Shoin along with those of Bakumatsu patriots such as Rai Mikisaburo. There is also a building modeled after the Shoka Sonjuku school preserved at Shoin Shrine in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and a bronze statue of Yoshida Shoin placed in the precinct in 2013.
• ​Sangenjaya​​: Also known as "Sancha," this is one of the most prominent commercial districts in Setagaya Ward. Beside the station entrance, a guide stone for the Oyama-michi trail is preserved. Carrot Tower, built through urban redevelopment, is the town's landmark, with an observation lobby on the 26th floor. In the triangular area bounded by National Route 246 and Setagaya-dori Street, narrow, winding alleys are lined with izakayas and bars.

Recommended Route & Time Required

The estimated time required is about 4 hours. From Sangenjaya Station, about 4 minutes from Shibuya on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line, board the Tokyu Setagaya Line. The Setagaya Line connects Sangenjaya Station and Shimo-Takaido Station. Get off at Miyanosaka Station, and Gotoku-ji Temple is about a 5-minute walk away. After viewing the maneki-neko at Shofukuden, walk around the three-story pagoda and try finding the cats hidden among the zodiac animals. A maneki-neko can also be seen at the sign of the Rat. In the cemetery, be sure to visit the grave of Ii Naosuke.

The Daikan Residence is about 790 meters south of Gotoku-ji Temple in a straight line. Pass through the thatched front gate, view the hiroma and yakusho-no-ma in the main residence, and stop by the Setagaya Local History Museum located within the grounds. On the street in front of the residence, the "Setagaya Boro-ichi" (rag market) is held every year on December 15–16 and January 15–16, drawing around 200,000 visitors per day.

From the Daikan Residence to Shoin-jinja Shrine is about 1 kilometer to the northeast. You can walk, or take the Setagaya Line from Kamimachi Station—the closest station to the residence—and get off at Shoin-jinja-mae Station. From the station, walk north along the Shoin-jinja-dori Shopping Street for about 3 minutes. After paying respects at the main shrine hall, visit the replica of Shoka Sonjuku and the cemetery.

Taking the Setagaya Line from Shoin-jinja-mae Station will bring you back to Sangenjaya Station. As it is about 1.2 kilometers in a straight line east-southeast from Shoin-jinja Shrine, you can also walk. In Sangenjaya, first view the Oyama-michi guide stone beside the station entrance and check where Setagaya-dori and Tamagawa-dori diverge, before exploring the alleys of the triangular area.

Summary of the Experience

Rows upon rows of maneki-neko, the Ii family cemetery, the thatched-roof Daikan Residence, and the grave of Shoin. Tairo Ii Naosuke, said to have issued the orders for the Ansei Purge, and Yoshida Shoin, who was executed after being implicated in it, rest in the same Setagaya area. Tracing the stations of the Setagaya Line lets you feel the history of the late Edo period close at hand, culminating in an enjoyable end to the day among the lively alleyways of Sangenjaya.