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When you step away from the hustle and bustle of Minami-Senju, you find yourself in a place imbued with silence and the weight of history. Toyokuniyama Ekoin, a temple standing on the former site of Kozukappara execution grounds, has been comforting countless souls since the Edo period.
Upon entering the temple grounds, the first thing that catches your eye is the “Anatomical Memorial Monument.” This monument was erected to commemorate the event in Meiwa 8 (1771), when the Dutch scholars Gempaku Sugita and Ryotaku Maeno, among others, attended the dissection of an executed body here and, based on that experience, translated the “Kaitai Shinsho” (New Book of Anatomy). Symbolizing the dawn of Japanese medicine, this monument quietly conveys the passion and spirit of inquiry of that era to visitors.
Venturing further in, you find the graves of Shoin Yoshida, Sanai Hashimoto, and Mikisaburo Rai, who lost their lives in the Ansei Purge. Despite the passage of time, their gravestones still speak of their aspirations. In particular, although Shoin Yoshida’s disciples later reinterred his remains at Shoin Shrine in Setagaya, his original gravestone remains here, leaving a deep impression on visitors.
Also found here are the graves of famous criminals from the Edo period, such as Nezumi Kozō Jirokichi and Oden Takahashi. Their graves quietly tell the stories of those who lived on the other side of history.
In one corner of the temple grounds stands the Yoshinobu Jizo, enshrined to mourn the victim of the Yoshinobu-chan kidnapping incident that occurred in Showa 38 (1963). Even today, this Jizo statue serves as a source of spiritual support for people.
Remnants of the former Kozukappara execution grounds are scattered around Ekoin. In the adjacent Enmei-ji Temple stands the Kubikiri Jizo, erected to console the souls of those executed. Its figure, standing 3.6 meters tall, leaves a deep impression on the hearts of visitors across generations.
This place is where the history of Edo and the lives of its people intersect, quietly telling visitors of the connection between past and present. Why not spend a moment in this tranquil space amidst the clamor, feeling the breath of history and reflecting on the thoughts of those who came before?