Heiwa no To Peace Pagoda
The Peace Pagoda (Heiwa no To) is located on a small hill in the gardens of Menuma Shodenzan Temple. It commemorates the people that lost their lives in World War II and was built to celebrate the ratification of the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951. The treaty formally re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied nations after World War II and legally ended the Allied occupation of Japan.
Four figures are enshrined in the pagoda, including the cosmic Buddha and the Eleven-Headed Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. It was built by a descendant of master carpenter Hayashi Masakiyo (1678–1753), who oversaw the construction of the Shodendo main hall in the eighteenth century. The Heiwa no To is a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property.