Itagaki Taisuke (1837-1919) was born at the site of the present Kōyaji Temple. He trained as a Japanese samurai, then later became a politician and key leader of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement (Jiyū Minken Undō).

Itagaki advocated for a constitutional government with a national assembly. As a samurai hailing from Tosa, he played a major role in the Meiji Restoration. Afterwards he resigned from the administration in protest, leading him to found Japan's first modern political party, the Liberal Party (Jiyūtō).

He is well known for surviving an assassination attempt, after which he famously declared, "Itagaki may die, but liberty never will!"

In the 10th year of the Meiji era (1877), Itagaki Taisuke moved to Shioe-Shinden in the southern area of Kōchi City. His family home was left vacant and was used for a time as a classroom for the Risshi Gakusha (School of Aspiration).

An article in the Kōchi Shimbun dated April 21, Meiji 14 (1881), states:

“The Nakajima Chōkaku residence, long occupied by successive generations of the Itagaki family, a cadet branch of the Kai-Genji clan, later became a school of the Risshisha Society. After the school moved to Kyōmachi, the house stood unoccupied for a long time. It is now said that the head priest of Mount Kōyasan has purchased it for 3,000 yen and plans to establish a Shingon Buddhist religious center there.”

Thus, the former Itagaki residence was purchased and became Kōyaji Temple. Construction of the temple building was completed on July 19, Meiji 16 (1883), and a roof-raising ceremony was held. The gate of Ryūjōin Temple in Hijima, Kōchi City, was originally the gate of Itagaki Taisuke’s birthplace and was purchased from Kōyaji Temple in Meiji 42 (1909).

The illustration of old residence shown on the left is included in The Biography of Itagaki Taisuke, published in Meiji 26 (1893). It depicts a moat overgrown with aquatic plants at the crossroads on the west side of Itagaki’s birthplace.
(From the Bulletin of the Itagaki Society, Issue No. 5)