The temple claims to have founded as a
Tendai sect temple by order of
Emperor Junna in 828 in the
Heian period. However, written records from this time are scarce, and this legend relies on the
Nanboku-chō period Tendai-ki as evidence. During the late
Nara period and early Heian period, after the establishment of a centralized government under the
Ritsuryō system, the
imperial court sent a number of military expeditions to what is now the
Tōhoku region of northern Japan to bring the local
Emishi tribes under its control. Numerous temples were built in the region at this time, many of which are attributed to
Jikaku Daishi. The
Tendai-ki further states that the temple was patronised by the
Northern Fujiwara clan. Priests from Zuigan-ji met with
Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and later with
Minamoto no Yoritomo during the
Battle of Ōshū to destroy the Northern Fujiwara at
Hiraizumi. The temple also houses a letter claiming to be from
Hojo Masako addressed to the monk Kenbutsu, along with a Buddhist relic donated by Masako, encased in a stupa-shaped crystal container, both of which are of questionable authenticity. However, what is known from archaeological evidence is that in the Heian period the site of the current temple was a salt furnace, thus it was impossible for a temple to have existed at this location at that time. During the
Kamakura period, under
Hōjō Tokimune, the temple changed from Tendai to Rinzai Zen, with
Rankei Dōryū has its head priest and came to a patronised by the
samurai class. Both the
Tendai-ki and Zen-sect records give dramatic accounts of this conversion, which involved the use of military force and the violent expulsion of the Tendai monks from the temple. As a Zen temple, it was initially ranked as one of the
Kantō Jissetsu. However, a fire left the temple in ruins by the end of the
Sengoku period. Around 1573, under the 93rd abbot, Jitsudo, the temple became affiliated with the Myoshinji school of the Rinzai sect. During the
Edo period, it was rebuilt by
Date Masamune from 1604 to 1609 using lumber brought from
Mount Kumano in what is now
Wakayama Prefecture and skilled workmen from
Kyoto and
Kii Province. The temple's surviving buildings from that reconstruction reflect the flamboyant
Momoyama style. In the
Edo period the temple flourished under the protection of the
Date clan, successive
daimyō of
Sendai Domain. A theory exists that the temple was reconstructed to be
Date Masamune's hidden fortress, and as Date Masamune planned to invite the Emperor to Zuigan-ji once he overthrew the
Tokugawa shogunate, he constructed a room called the
Kamijodan no Ma, where the Emperor could place his throne. Following the
Meiji restoration, most of the temple's territory was confiscated by the
Meiji government, and with the loss of income, many of its buildings fell into disrepair and were eventually lost. However, in 1918 the Crown Prince (the future
Emperor Taisho) visited the temple and in 1947,
Emperor Hirohito also made a visit. The
Main Hall, which was completed in 1609, was designated a
National Treasure in 1953, and the temple many other cultural assets, including buildings. A museum opened in 1974 and houses approximately 30,000 items, including artifacts unearthed during excavations. Major repairs to the temple buildings were conducted from 2008 to 2018. Due to its protected location in
Matsushima Bay, the temple escaped severe damage during the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, although there was some damage to the gardens. The temple is five minutes on foot from
Matsushima-Kaigan Station on the
JR East Senseki Line, 20 minutes on foot from
Matsushima Station on the JR
Tohoku Main Line. File:211030 Zuigan-ji Matsushima Miyagi pref Japan08s3.jpg|Middle Gate（ICP） File:211030 Zuigan-ji Matsushima Miyagi pref Japan15s3.jpg|Onarimon（P.ICP） File:211030 Zuigan-ji Matsushima Miyagi pref Japan01s3.jpg|Sōmon（P.ICP） File:211030 Godaido Zuigan-ji Matsushima Miyagi pref Japan05s3.jpg|Godai-dō（ICP） File:Principal image Buddha of Zuigan-ji Temple.JPG|
Honzon Shō-Kannon Bosatsu Seiryuden museum of Zuiganji 20181007.jpg|Seiryuden Museum Hawk Room - Zuiganji Hondo.jpg|One of the
fusuma paintings in the Hondo (ICP) ==Cultural properties==