Eisho-in Temple was founded in 1504 by Takeda Nobumasa (1447-1505), the sixteenth head of the Takeda Clan. He appointed Zen master Ikke Bun-ei to be chief priest, and made the temple his personal family temple. Nobumasa’s grave remains in the temple precincts.
In ancient times, Eisho-in Temple governed 96 branch temples located in the area from Koshu to Bushu, and served as a place of ascetic practice where some eighty ascetics lived. Situated on high ground, the temple precincts offer a magnificent view of Kofu Basin, designated as one of the “Hundred Views of Fuji in Kanto.”
Nobumasa handed over the reins of power to his eldest son Nobunawa while he was still alive and spent his retirement in a house he built in today’s Ochiai, Yamanashi City. He was thus also called “Ochiai-dono” or “Ochiai-gozen” (“dono” and “gozen” are honorific titles meaning “mister”).