Chozen-ji Temple tops the list of the Kofu Gozan (Five Temples of Kofu) designated for protection by Takeda Shingen. It is known as the family temple where Shingen’s mother Lady Oi lies buried. The “Portrait of Lady Takeda Nobutora” (portrait of Lady Oi) that is kept in the temple is designated a National Important Cultural Property.
It is here that Takeda Shingen studied Zen under Gishu Genpaku, the first and chief priest of Chozen-ji. As a master of academics and politics, Genpaku was invited by Lady Oi to teach Shingen during his childhood years and had great influence on Shingen’s character formation. He is also known as the high priest who conferred the name “Kizan Shingen” on Shingen who had gone by the name Takeda Harunobu until then. Inside a large, imposing gate, the temple precincts are home to a main hall and three-tiered and five-tiered pagodas.