Seitenkyu, Sakado坂户圣天宫（五千头龙腾升之圣天宫）
- Type
- Overseas Daoist Temples
- Location
- Japan · Saitama Prefecture · Sakado City · 51-1 Tsukagoshi (Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture, not Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture)
- Coordinates
- 35.9635, 139.4273 Map ↗
- School
- Daoism in Taiwan
- First built
- 1980 (registered as a religious corporation), 1981 (construction began), 1995 (completed and opened) · Founded by the Taipei businessman Kang Guodian; took fifteen years to complete
Overview
Sakado Seitenkyu, in full "Seitenkyu of the Ascending Five Thousand Dragons," is the largest Daoist building in Japan, and also the site with the purest Daoist character in the country. It is dedicated primarily to the Three Pure Ones — the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, the Celestial Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue, and the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure — with the Lords of the Northern and Southern Dippers and the Four Celestial Masters also worshipped, belonging to the Taiwanese Daoist system. According to the temple's own account, its founder, the Taipei businessman Kang Guodian, suffered from a serious illness, and recovered after praying to the Three Pure Ones; he thereupon vowed to build a temple in fulfillment of his vow, and stated that he had received a divine revelation that it should be built in Sakado, Japan. A religious corporation was established in 1980, construction began in 1981, and the temple was completed and opened in 1995, after fifteen years. All building materials and carved elements were made in Taiwan and shipped by sea to Japan, where the construction was carried out by Taiwanese temple craftsmen; the decoration includes the forms of five thousand dragons, from which the temple takes its name. Note: in general Japanese usage, "Seitenkyu" or "Seiten-in" mostly refers to the Buddhist deity Shōten (Kangiten, derived from the elephant-headed god Ganesha) and has nothing to do with Daoism; this temple in Sakado is a rare exception.
Highlights
- The largest Daoist building in Japan
- Dedicated primarily to the Three Pure Ones
- Building components made in Taiwan and shipped by sea to Japan
- Decoration featuring the forms of five thousand dragons