Elternal Inc. (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Takayasu Kokubo; hereinafter, “our company”), a venture company established at Waseda University, will start offering limited edition paper-cut goshuin stamps for winter and New Year’s visits at Kan’ei-ji Temple, the head temple of the Tendai sect, for which the company provides consulting services, from Saturday, December 14th. The temple is known as the prayer hall and family temple of the Tokugawa Shoguns, and is an extremely prestigious temple where six of the 15 shoguns in history rest, surpassing the two at Nikko Toshogu Shrine. Since the temple began offering its first paper-cut goshuin stamps in 2023, the response has been huge, and even today many people from all over Japan come to worship at Kan’ei-ji Temple in search of its paper-cut goshuin stamps.
1. Winter-only “Tokugawa Papercut Goshuin”
A turtle with a fluffy tail and ears is placed on the roof of the Kan’eiji Temple Konponchudo Hall to watch over you. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Kan’eiji Temple, we have created a paper-cut goshuin stamp with this turtle as a motif, a symbol of longevity that has been watching over the temple for many years. The design looks like the turtle is walking slowly through the snowy winter. In addition, the Shibusawa Family Mausoleum, which is associated with Shibusawa Eiichi, whose portrait appears on the new 10,000 yen banknote, also has a turtle figurine with a paper-cut goshuin motif that was previously installed on the roof of Kan’eiji Temple Konponchudo Hall as a ward off evil and fire. We hope you enjoy this photo of the turtle that has walked alongside the history of Kan’eiji Temple and the snowy scenery.
New Year’s visit limited “Tokugawa paper cutting goshuin Kan’eiji temple legend ~ Keiki’s battle coat”
This paper-cut goshuin stamp is available only for New Year’s visits to the shrine, and is based on the jinbaori (battle robe) worn by Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th shogun of the Edo shogunate, which is in the possession of Kan’ei-ji Temple. This jinbaori is kept in the Aoi-no-Ma room, famous for being the room where Yoshinobu was confined, and is a very valuable jinbaori that was sent by the French government 150 years ago. The paper-cut goshuin stamp is also sprinkled with two-leaf hollyhock flowers, which are painted on the walls, to represent the space of the Aoi-no-Ma room. Enjoy this New Year’s visit stamp along with the auspicious plum blossoms that bring longevity.
Award details:
◎Date: Saturday, December 14, 2024 – *Limited quantity available, while supplies last
◎ Location: Kan’ei-ji Temple, Konponchudo [1-14-11 Ueno Sakuragi, Taito-ku, Tokyo]
2. About Kan’ei-ji Temple
Kan’ei-ji is a temple of the Tendai sect. It was built in 1625 by the great priest Tenkai, who was known as Jigen Daishi, on the plateau of Ueno, which is in the direction of the evil spirits (northeast) of Edo Castle, to pray for the stability of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the peace of all people. Later, the mausoleum of the fourth shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, was built there, and it also came to serve as the family temple of the shogunate. In addition, by welcoming the head priest of Mount Toei from the imperial family (Rinnojinomiya), it became the largest temple in Japan in terms of status and size during the Edo period. In 2025, it will mark the 400th anniversary of its founding, and it continues to convey the weight of history engraved in Ueno to the present day.
<Kan’ei-ji Temple Homepage>
3. Kan’ei-ji Temple Official Instagram
We will be posting information about the limited edition paper-cut goshuin stamps on our official Instagram account. In addition, we will be posting information unique to Kan’ei-ji Temple, such as historical buildings, places related to the Tokugawa family, and valuable cultural assets that were not widely known until now.
4. ELternal Company Profile
ELternal Inc.
Sumitomo Real Estate Iidabashi Building 3F, 2-3-21 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Founded in July 2020, ELternal Inc. operates in four areas to solve social issues: tourism development consulting, regional revitalization consulting, shrine and temple (temple and shrine) consulting, and next-generation permanent memorial services, with the mission of “Bringing excitement to Japan.”
[Representative profile]
Representative Director and CEO Takayasu Kokubo
Graduated from Waseda University Graduate School of Business Administration (MBA). Tourism resource development consultant. Shrine and temple consultant.
While studying at Waseda University Graduate School, he won a business plan contest and then founded ELternal Inc. with the university. He is skilled at planning marketing strategies and even handles actual sales promotion. He is particularly known for developing tourism resources centered around temples and shrines, and in 2018 he started the Saitama Yakuyoke Kaiun Daishi Regional Revitalization Project, which revived the first shrine visit of the year at ancient temples. In just five years, from 2018 to 2023, he aims to increase the number of visitors 500-fold (from 1,000 to 500,000). He is currently one of Japan’s leading temple and shrine consultants, working on multiple large-scale consulting projects, including World Heritage temples.
