Following a fire in 1638 the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, ordered several structures from Edo Castle to be moved to Kitain to help rebuild the temple. As the buildings that remained in Edo Castle were subsequently destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 or in the air raids of World War II, these are the only original structures of Edo Castle that survive today. Kitain Temple is also famous for its 538 statues of the Rakan, disciples of the Buddha, as well as for being the head temple of the Tendai Sect in the Kanto Region.
