The temple was commandeered by the Tokugawa shogunate for use as a conference hall during negotiations to end Japan's national isolation policy. The Russian delegation under Vice-Admiral Euphimy Vasil'evich Putiatin, was trapped in Shimoda at the end of 1854 when a tsunami caused by the Ansei Tokai earthquake destroyed their fleet.
The temple was commandeered by the Tokugawa shogunate to serve as a venue for peace talks aimed at ending Japan's isolation policy. The Russian delegation under Vice-Admiral Euphimy Vasil'evich Putiatin, isolated in Shimoda by 1854, faced an emergency when a tsunami resulting from the Ansei Tokai earthquake destroyed their naval forces.