Overview
Tanritsu jiin are temples registered as independent religious corporations, not affiliated with any specific Buddhist sect. There are approximately 7,000 such temples in Japan. If an ancestor’s danna-dera was an independent temple, inquiries cannot be made through a sect’s administrative office—you must contact the temple directly.
Genealogy Research Notes
- Cannot use sect administrative channels for inquiries
- The temple may have closed (haiji) or have no resident priest
- For closed temples, contact nearby temples, the local board of education, or the municipal office
- Consulting cemetery associations or head parishioners (danka sodai) may also be effective
How to Find Records
The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ “Religious Yearbook” (Shūkyō Nenkan) and municipal religious corporation registers may list the temple. The National Tax Agency’s corporate number publication site can also be used to search by temple name.
