Shôkoku-ji in the Meiji Period
(1868-1912)

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the government adopted a policy of the suppression of Buddhism and all Japanese temples found themselves in dire straits. The 126th abbot of Shôkoku-ji, Dokuon Jôju (1819-1895) pressed the new government's Department of Religion to recognize freedom of religion. Winning the trust of the Japanese Buddhist community through his opposition to the Meiji government's anti-Buddhist policies, he was appointed to the highest rank (Daikyôshô) in the Meiji government's department of religious propagation, the Daikyôin. Dokuon Jôju not only won freedom of worship for Japanese Buddhists but also restored the finances of Shôkoku-ji, which had been seriously threatened by the anti-Buddhist persecution.