TENJIKU TOKUBEI

Tenjiku Tokubei was born in sendo-machi, Takasago cho, in 1612. His father was a salt wholesaler. He often went back and forth to Kyoto and Osaka with his father during his childhood. When he was fifteen years old, in 1626, he was employed by a trading company in Kyoto worked in Siam (Thailand) and Magadha (India). After that, in 1630, he went to India again in a Dutch ship, with Jan Joosten, a Dutchman, and traded there. The Japanese word "Tenjiku" means India; that's why he was called Tokubei Tenjiku.

Tokubei donated "Baitarayo", which is now preserved in Jyurin Temple and was designated by Takasago City, as a cultural asset. "Baitarayo" is a kind of prayer written on leaves in an ancient language.