Kogakuji Temple
Kogakuji Temple was constructed in present-day Aichi Prefecture in 1644. It was the family temple of the Inagaki family, who moved it to Toba in 1726, after being granted control of Toba Castle and its domain. The graves of the Inagaki family and some of their retainers can be found within the temple grounds.
Kogakuji contains some of the remnants of the Nippon Maru, the grand flagship built by Kuki Yoshitaka for Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasion of Korea in 1592. There are four painted fusuma sliding doors that once decorated the living quarters of the ship installed in the temple’s main building. The doors were installed in Toba Castle after the ship was dismantled in the Edo period (1603–1867), and local historians believe they were sold to Kogakuji when the castle was demolished in the Meiji era (1868–1912).
The doors are painted with birds and flowers, dancing herons, and roosters in a forest. They are designated Cultural Properties of Toba City.