Zenkoji Gokaicho (Maedachi Honzon Unveiling)

The Zenkoji Gokaicho is described as a long-awaited occasion that returns after 7 years. With its opening, worshippers are brought into a sacred connection with the temple's Maedachi image.

The edition is confirmed for 4 April to 19 June 2027 and takes place in Nagano, Japan. The organiser is Zenkoji. The timing is usually announced for around April.

Visiting the temple's national treasure and important cultural property buildings normally requires an admission ticket. Terms for the gokaicho itself have not been given, and this access information is not yet confirmed, so check with the temple before travelling.

The official site names a pillar-raising ceremony as one stage of the Gokaicho. It also lists 3 major services: an opening service, a mid-period service and a closing service.

Among the listed events is a Shinonoi Great Lion dedication. The lion dance tells of a butterfly teasing a sleeping lion until it grows angry. Nagano City designates the dance an intangible folk cultural property.

According to the temple's chronicle, the principal image of Zenkoji, an Amida triad, travelled from India to the Korean kingdom of Baekje and was brought to Japan in 552. It is said to be the oldest Buddhist image in Japan.

In 1555 Takeda Shingen moved the principal image, along with the temple's treasures and priests, to Kofu. The image went back to Zenkoji in 1598, after more than 40 years away.