While first and foremost a powerful feudal warlord, Takeda Shingen was also a Buddhiest priest. Following the "Five Mountains (gozan)" –"moutains" meaning temples– hierarchical system used to organize and control Buddhist temples in Kyoto and Kamakura, Shingen chose five temples located on the slopes of Mount Atago as the "Kofu Gozan" (the five "mountains" of Kofu), to pray for the protection and safety of the state.

The highest ranked of these is Chozen-ji temple, a place of great importance in Shingen's life where he received the teachings of priest Gishu Genpaku at a young age and first learned about politics. Later in life, he would also go on to receive from him his posthumous Buddhist name, going from Harunobu to "Shingen" as we know him today.

Two pagodas, one three-storied and the other five-storied, can be found towering over the premises. As the family temple of Shingen's mother, Lady Ooi, the temple houses also her grave as well as a portrait of her certified as an Important Cultural Property of Japan.