Higashi Honganji Ibaraki Branch of the Otani sect of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, affectionately known by the locals as ``Gobou-san'', was founded in 1603, when Higashi Honganji had just been built in Shichijo Karasuma, Kyoto. This temple was founded by Kyonyo Shonin and boasts a history of 400 years. At that time, Ibaraki was a post town on the Saigoku Kaido, and the lord of Ibaraki Castle, Katsumoto Katagiri, donated the land within the castle to the Shonin and built it, and it is said that Kyonyo Shonin always stayed here when he headed down to Osaka. I am. The current main hall was built in 1777 and enshrines a wooden statue of Kyonyo Witness. The magnificent temple is the largest in Ibaraki City. The black pine that stands to the right as you enter the temple grounds from the Sanmon gate is over 400 years old and is said to have been planted when the temple was built. In 1920, the 22nd Shonin Kagenyo (Kyobutsu) named it ``Kousen no Matsu'' and it was designated as a preserved tree in Ibaraki City.