This is a temple of the Shinshu Ohtani Sect that separated from the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Sect in the 16th century. The South Mido Hall was built in 1598, and for a while served as the head temple. In the Edo period (1603 to 1867) “haiku” poet, Matsuo Basho, passed away near here, and a stone monument engraved with his dying words stands in the temple.
