Ekōin Temple

Ekōin Temple is marked by a tall, modern tower dedicated to the souls of animals, which rises above a collection of memorial stones and a quiet cemetery in the heart of the Ryōgoku district. The temple was founded in sixteen fifty-seven by the fourth Tokugawa shogun, Ietsuna, following the Great Fire of Meireki. This fire destroyed much of the city of Edo and killed over one hundred thousand people, many of whom had no surviving family to claim them. The shogun ordered this land set aside as a burial ground for those forgotten victims and established a monument known as the Mound of a Million Souls.