Reiyukai Shakaden Black Star Temple

One can count the Space Age, Black Star–esque architecture of Reiyūkai Shakaden Temple among the many places in Tokyo that seem straight out of a science fiction movie. With its brooding red-and-black granite exterior and electrochemically coloured steel shingles, you might half expect Darth Vader himself to stride out of the entrance, cape flowing, ready to preside over a Sith council meeting

Completed in 1975, this futuristic, almost otherworldly complex is home to the Buddhist sect Reiyūkai (霊友会, Spiritual-Friendship). Reiyūkai emerged as an offshoot of Buddhism in 1925 by Kakutarō Kubo and Kimi Kotani, focusing on ancestral worship without a priesthood.

The temple is open for exploration and features the Main Hall, the Plaza, the Kotani Hall, various conference rooms, a cafeteria, a childcare room, and a nurse's office.

In Japanese, "Shakaden" means the "House of Shakyamuni." Despite its exterior aura that could easily be mistaken for a Dark Side lair, the temple is in fact a place where anyone can deepen their practice of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra.

Interestingly, since Reiyūkai Buddhism traces its roots back to the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the temple houses a hidden reservoir containing 400 tons of drinking water for use in the event of another major disaster striking Tokyo — a feature as practical as it is mysterious.

Note: As this is an active temple, no photos are allowed in the expansive interior.

Reiyukai Shakaden Temple
(81) 35.563.2500
 1-7-8 Azabudai Minato, Tokyo 06-0041, Japan 
www.reiyukai.jp