Takahata Fudoson Chrysanthemum Festival

Takahatasan Kongo-ji is said to date from the early Heian period, when the monk Ennin built its Fudo hall, and it is counted with Naritasan Shinsho-ji among the three great Fudo temples of the Kanto region. It is also known as the family temple of Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi, whose memorial stone stands in the grounds. The chrysanthemum festival runs from late October into mid-November, with carefully trained plants set against the Fudo hall and the five-storey pagoda. As soon as it ends, the temple's maple festival begins in the same precincts, and by late November the hillside foliage is at its peak, so autumn colour carries straight on from the flowers. The pleasure of this festival lies in walking chrysanthemums, old architecture and wooded hillside together in a single visit.