Senju Hall

Senju Hall at Lake Chuzenji enshrines the Thousand-armed Kannon, one of the three principal deities of Rinnoji Temple and believed to be a manifestation of nearby Mt. Nantai. The hall was originally built on the western shore of the lake in 784, the location chosen because in Pure Land Buddhism paradise lies to the west. It was rebuilt periodically over the centuries, and from 1965 until 2016 only a concrete foundation slab remained. The current structure, completed in 2016 to commemorate two major anniversaries in Nikko's religious history, restored the hall that had been absent for fifty years. The founding deity, according to tradition, was carved from a vision seen above the lake by the monk Shodo Shonin.