Shinjuku Ruriko-in Byakurenge-do / Buddhist Temple

Jōdo Shinshū (浄土真宗) Buddhist temple with an automated cemetery

It’s quite unusual to find a place like this right in the heart of Shinjuku, just a two-minute walk from the station. Cemeteries are typically located on the outskirts of the city, but this temple is seamlessly integrated into a densely built, lively urban area—demonstrating that remembering those who have passed can be a part of everyday life.

The concrete architecture of the building is designed to resemble a lotus bud: the narrow base represents the stem, while the expanding upper floors symbolize the petals. At the ground level, there is a pond with real lotus flowers. The temple’s façade is punctuated with narrow rectangular windows, and one of them is positioned so that, twice a year—on the spring and autumn equinoxes—sunlight shines directly onto the face of Buddha at exactly 3:00 PM.

A particularly fascinating feature of this temple is its automated columbarium, developed by Toyota Industries, which is used to store urns with cremated remains. The urns are kept in a secure storage system with a capacity for 7,000 urns. Visitors access their family’s urn using an electronic ID card, after which the urn is automatically retrieved and delivered to one of eight private viewing booths. An electronic display beside the urn shows the deceased person’s image and name.

In this project, architect Kiyoshi Takeyama blended traditional temple functions with modern architecture. In the past, temples in Japan were not just religious sites—they also served as schools, hospitals, museums, and cultural centers. Usually, these facilities are spread out horizontally across a temple complex, but here, everything is arranged vertically within a single building.