The Otamaya Park of Oka feudal lordオカハンシュオタマヤコウエン

The Otamaya Park of Oka feudal lord is in the graveyard of Hekiunji that was the family temple of Oka feudal lord in those days. Hekiunji was composed with temple building coalition area, tomb area of the successive generation's feudal lord, Roshoku 'In a post in the Edo bakufu government, it is the job of Tairo(chief ministry), Roju(member of the Shogun's council of elders), the seneschal of the Daimyo and so on', the successive generations chief priest, and the pond and the garden. Present Hekiunji is a part of center of the kuri (Buddhist priests' living quarters) which left a shape in those days. Hekiunji is in the northwest of Oka castle, and on the opposite bank of Inaba River. This temple has been built on the land that accumulated the earth and sand by Inaba River's flood flooded under the cliff. Nakagawa Hideshige who was the first feudal lord set about construction of tea ceremony house in this place in the spring in 1612. It seemed to have tried to construction of Zendo (temple for Zen study) as a part of first facility but he died in Oka castle on August 14th in the same year. Therefore, construction was started again for a family temple in this place and built by Nakagawa Hisamori who was the 2nd feudal lord in the same year. Also, Unshitsuzenshi was invited from Toganji of Somadani that was situated southeast of the castle town, and made funeral service of Nakagawa Hideshige and became the first Jushoku (chief priest) of Hekiunji. In 1633, he received 100koku (1 koku means about 180 liters of unpolished rice) as the temple estate. Nobody knows about aspect of the Buddhist temple arrangement of Hekiunji that did establishment at that time. Around the end of the Edo period, it placed a Hondo (main hall of a Buddhist temple) in the front, it provided Kuri (kitchen of a Buddhist temple) on the left of Hondo, it joined these with the corridor and there was a vestibule among this. The Study which connected with Kuri was provided for the direction of the front of the vestibule, and the long building of 4Ken (7.272m)× 9Ken (16.362m) which connected with the corridor was provided for the right of Hondo. There were Zendo (temples for Zen study) near the back of this building and there was a graveyard group around these buildings. It is said that such Buddhist temple arrangement is Danetsuji style that is much seen in the Edo period. The Otamaya Park of Oka feudal lord is the park of the historic site that maintained and preserved the graveyard of the feudal lord, and yard of around the Ryugin pond. It restored Tamagaki (fence around a shrine), Dobei (mud wall), gate and Ryugin pond of the graveyard of feudal lord, and maintained to remember a graveyard yard in the Edo period.