The Kyûjûzan Tôkei'in is a Zen temple of the Sôtô school located near to the town of Shizuoka (180 km to the west of Tokyo) on Mt. Kuzumi. The temple was originally a Shintô sanctuary dedicated to the divinity Sumiyoshi Umanaku Daimyôjin, transformed later into a temple of Japanese Shingon (esoteric) Buddhism while bearing the name Kikei'in (alternatively, Kikei'an). In 1452, the governor of the province of Fukushima, Lord Iga, entrusted the direction of the temple to Zen Master Sekisô Enchû (d. 1455), who renamed it the Tôkei'in. Sekisô Enchû took the title of second abbot, leaving the honorary title of abbot-founder (jap. Kaisan) to his late Master, Jochû Tengin (1365-1440), as was often the custom at the time. Once leaving the main road up the mountain, one takes a long path lined by ceders.

The original French version of these pages, and many of its photographs, are by Eric Rommeluère, founder of the “Un Zen Occidental” Sangha in Paris, Dharma Heir of Nishijima Roshi and Dharma Brother to Jundo.