Jokoji Temple is the largest and arguably the most significant Buddhist temple in the Takada Temple Town district of Joetsu. It was established in 1224 by Shinran (1173–1262), the founder of Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) Buddhism, in what is now Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture. After Shinran’s death, the temple in Kasama was lost to fire and subsequently relocated to Nagano. It remained there for 300 years until it too was destroyed, a casualty of the Battles of Kawanakajima (1553–1564) fought between the rival warlords Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578) and Takeda Shingen (1521–1573).

In 1567, Kenshin, a devout Buddhist, relocated Jokoji to the Kasugayama district of his native Joetsu, where his castle stood. The temple was later moved to the castle town of Fukushima and then Takada. The Takada castle town was destroyed in 1665, and Jokoji was reconstructed in its present location in 1675. Dating to that year is the Main Hall, one of the largest temple buildings in Niigata Prefecture and a designated Important Cultural Property. It survived the fire that in 1915 destroyed large swaths of the Temple Town, and, thanks to donations and subsidies, was temporarily disassembled and thoroughly restored between 1995 and 2004.

Scrolls and prayer beads once owned by Shinran, as well as numerous other centuries-old artifacts, are kept in the Treasure Hall beside the Main Hall. Also nearby is Shinran’s mausoleum, which contains part of his remains. The tomb at Jokoji was established to house the priest’s parietal bone and for devotees to visit.