Gotokuji Temple
豪徳寺 · Gotokuji Temple
- Ward
- Setagaya
- Price
- Free (beckoning cats ¥300–5,000)
- Hours
- 06:00-18:00 (shrine office 09:
- Closed
- Open daily
- Getting there
- 5–10 min walk from Gotokuji Stn (Odakyu) or Miyanosaka Stn (Setagaya Line)
- Founded
- 1480
- Legend has it that lord Ii Naotaka
- Unlike the usual figure, these cats hold no gold coin
- You are not obliged to leave your cat behind — taking it home is normal
We do not republish copyrighted photographs. Use the links below to see the actual venue.
Obvious to locals, invisible to visitors
There is a simple reason guidebooks leave this out: to the people who live here it is too obvious to be worth explaining.
Legend has it that lord Ii Naotaka, returning from a hawking trip, was beckoned inside by a white cat at the gate — and so escaped a lightning strike. The temple became the Ii family's mortuary temple, and one of the claimed birthplaces of the beckoning cat.
Unlike the usual figure, these cats hold no gold coin. The reason is a samurai maxim: the cat brings you the opportunity, but turning it into fortune is your own work.
You are not obliged to leave your cat behind — taking it home is normal. The thousands piled at the hall were brought back later, in thanks, by people whose wishes came true. Nine sizes exist and none is more potent than another.
Admission is free and the grounds are vast, but this is a working Soto Zen temple with the Ii family graves. Worshippers and mourners share the space, so keep voices down and leave the tripod behind.
What it is
Setagaya is a ward where distinctive shops dot the suburbs. Midday and dusk leave completely different impressions. Come at the wrong hour and it is just an ordinary block. Toilets are far off. Sort that out at a station or park beforehand. Hours go irregular over long holidays; check before setting out. Leave large bags in a station locker; there is not much room inside. One stop off the tourist line and this is what appears — that is the nature of this city.
What to order
Why locals keep coming
It costs nothing, so it fits any itinerary regardless of budget. It is barely hashtagged. Being a view not yet consumed is itself the value.