The Daijuji Temple was built by Matsudaira Chikatada, of the 4th dynasty of the Matsudaira family, to serve as a school of Jodo Buddhism in 1475. It is said that the honzon (main principal image of worship) of Amitabha Tathagata (Amida Nyorai) was made at the end of Heian Period (794-1185).

When Tokugawa Ieyasu was 19 years old, he was waiting at Odaka Castle as a vanguard in order to invade the Owari province under the command of Imagawa Yoshimoto. However, the war was suddenly changed when Imagawa Yoshimoto was killed by Oda Nobunaga at the rear guard post of Okehazama. Tokugawa Ieyasu ran to Daijuji Temple but couldn’t find a way out, so he determined to kill himself in front of the tomb. Before Ieyasu has the chance, the 13th priest of the Daijuji Temple said to him slowly, “You were given this life in order to put an end to the war of the Sengoku period and create peaceful world for the nation. This is your responsibility.”

The words not only prevented his suicide, but they also gave him a new sense of purpose, thus giving him the drive and determination to defeat the surrounding army. He kept the priest’s words in mind as a motto until he died.

Just as the priest said he would, Tokugawa Ieyasu was able to put an end to the war of the Sengoku period and left his will before he died stating, “dedicate a memorial tablet at Daijuji Temple.” Following his will, a memorial tablet of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu has been enshrined at this temple.