Category: Garden
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Chorakuji Temple (長楽寺)
Chorakuji Temple is located east of Yasaka Jinja Shrine, up the hill from Maruyama Park. It has a long history. In 805 Dengyo Daishi (a great Buddhist priest) created the temple at the order of Emperor Kanmu. It was originally a branch temple of Hieizan Enryakuji Temple of the Tendai sect. Later, in the early…
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Hoshun-in Temple (芳春院), Daitokuji
Hoshun-in temple is a sub-temple of the Daitokuji Temple. Hoshun-in temple is located at the northernmost point of the Daitokuji temple compound. You find it further back, past the entrance to Daisen-in Temple. Hoshunin is the Buddhist name of Matsu, a regular wife of Maeda Toshiie. He was a feudal lord in the Warring States…
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Obai-in temple (黄梅院), Daitokuji
Obai-in temple’s gardens are must see if you have chance. This temple is a real hidden gem in Kyoto. Oda Nobunaga built Obai-an in 1562 as a memorial service for his father, Oda Nobuhide. And it is one of the sub-temples of Daitokuji Temple. After Nobunaga’s sudden death due to the Honnoji Incident, Hideyoshi Hashiba…
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Daisen-in (大仙院), Daitokuji
Daisen-in is the most important sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple. In 1509 Rokkaku Masayori founded Daisen-in. The main hall is the original building. It is one of the oldest remaining Zen sect hojo buildings and is a national treasure. Shoin is an important cultural property. The garden is said to be a rock garden representing Karesansui…
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Soken-in (総見院), Daitokuji
Soken-in Temple is a sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple. Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Soken-in Temple in 1583 as a memorial to Oda Nobunaga, who fell in the Honnoji Incident. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the man who united Japan after the death of Oda Nobunaga, following his legacy. In the main hall is a wooden seated statue of Lord…
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Ryogen-in (龍源院), Daitokuji
Ryogen-in is a sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple. This temple was founded in 1502 by Yoshimoto Hatakeyama, Yoshinaga Otomo, and Yoshioki Ouchi. It is the oldest sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple. This temple is usually open to the public. The original buildings, the Hojo, Karamon, and Omotemon, are important cultural properties. Kyoto City Official Travel Guide Ryogen-in…
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Korin-in (興臨院), Daitokuji
Korin-in is the sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple. It is not open to the public except on special viewing days. Hatakeyama family of Noto built in 1520s. Since then, it has become the family temple of the Noto Hatakeyama clan. The main hall was later destroyed by fire and has been rebuilt. After the fall of…
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Zuiho-in (瑞峯院), Daitokuji
Zuiho-in is a sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple. This temple is usually open to the public. In 1535, Otomo Sorin, known as a Christian daimyo, built Zuiho-in as the family temple of the Otomo family. The guest hall, front gate, and Karamon gate that remain from the time of its construction are important cultural properties. The…
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Sumiya (角屋) in Shimabara
Sumiya is an ageya (restaurant/feast facility) that once operated in Kyoto’s Shimabara red-light district (present-day Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City). Its building has been designated as a national important cultural property. It has been open to the public as the Sumiya Hospitality Culture Museum since 2011. Currently, only the first floor is open to the public.…
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Wachigaiya (輪違屋)
Wachigaiya is usually closed to the public. Shimabara was the only prestigious red-light district in Kyoto that was officially recognized by the Shogunate. Wachigaiya continues to operate today and is the only tea house/okiya in Japan that has its own Tayu. An okiya is like a production house where maiko and geiko are housed, trained,…
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Hosenin Temple (宝泉院) in Ohara
Hosenin temple is a temple of the Tendai sect in Ohara. Together with the Jikkoin Temple, it is a sub-temple of the Shorinin Temple. As visitors enter through the temple gate, they see before them a temple’s symbol, a 700-year-old goyomatsu (five-leaf pine tree). Because it is a large and precious goyomatsu tree, “Hosenin no…
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Jikkoin Temple (実光院) in Ohara
Jikkoin Temple in Ohara is a monastery of nearby Shorinin Temple, which used to be the main hall of a sub-temple of Gyozan Taigenji. In addition to this temple and Hosenin Temple, there used to be many other monastery buildings such as Fugenin and Rikakuin. The Temple’s official WEB site tells the history of the…
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Jakkoin Temple (寂光院) in Ohara
Jakkoin Temple in Ohara is a nunnery of the Tendai sect of Buddhism. This is the temple where Kenreimonin, daughter of Taira no Kiyomori, spent the rest of her life. History of Jakkoin Temple In 594 Prince Shotoku built the temple to mourn the loss of his father, Emperor Yomei. The first abbot was Tamateru…
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Sanzenin Temple (三千院) in Ohara
Sanzenin Temple was originally built by Saicho during the Enryaku era (782-806) in the Toto Minamidani (東塔南谷) on Mt. Hiei. Since the late Heian period, the temple has been a monzeki, with the prince and imperial family serving as abbots. The location of the temple has moved several times over time, from within Hieizan to…
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Danrinji (檀林寺)
Near the Gioji Temple, you can find another temple with the tablet of “Danrinji Monzeki”. This is a fake temple constructed in 1964. And it borrowed a name from a historical temple. Original Danrinji Temple disappeared in the middle of Heian period (check it on Wikipedia). Current Danrinji is not even a reconstruction of the…
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Shorenin Monzeki (青蓮院門跡)
Shorenin Monzeki is one of the three monzeki of Enryakuji Temple on Mt. Hiei (other two is Sanzen-in and Myoho-in). It is now one of the five Kyoto Monzeki of the Tendai sect. It originated from Shorenbo, a monk’s abode on Mt. Hiei, which at that time was the residence of Saicho, Ennin, and other…
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Byodoin Temple (平等院)
Byodoin Temple in Uji represents the beauty of Heian Period. It is a Buddhist temple located in Uji City, south of Kyoto City. It is one of the best preserved national treasures in Japan and a World Heritage Site. (Official WEB site) Byodoin was built in the south of Heian-kyo during the mid-Heian period. The…
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Konpukuji Temple (金福寺)
If you are interested in Haiku or Matsuo Basho, Konpukuji Temple has a trace of Basho and other important Haiku poets. Konpukuji Temple is a temple of the Nanzenji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. It is a sacred place for haiku pilgrims. Konpukuji Temple was built in 864, and was rebuilt by monk Tesshu in…
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Shisendo Jozanji (詩仙堂丈山寺)
Shisendo is a branch temple of Eiheiji Temple of the Soto sect of Buddhism, where Ishikawa Jozan lived until his death in 1672 at the age of 90. Ishikawa participated in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. And quit the warrior’s life after the Summer Battle of Osaka in 1614. Afterwards, Ishikawa wrote poems on…
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Houkongoin Temple (法金剛院)
Only local people know the flower temple Houkongoin. It is a temple of the Ritsu sect of Buddhism. The Ritsu sect is represented by Toshodaiji temple in Nara, but there are only a few temples. (Temple’s official WEB site) Hokkongoin is located right in front of JR Hanazono Station, making it a very accessible temple.…
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Reigen-in Temple (霊源院)
Reigen-in is one of the sub-temples located in the southeast of the Kenninji temple grounds. It was founded in the Ouei era (1394-1428) by Ryuzan Tokumi, a monk who was invited to found the temple, and his disciple Ichian Ichirin. Reigen-in Temple was the academic core of Kenninji Temple and produced many of the leading…
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Shoden Eigen-in Temple (正伝永源院)
Shoden Eigen-in is a sub-temple of Kenninji Temple, the head temple of the Rinzai sect of Buddhism. In the Kamakura period, when the temple was founded, there were two temples, Shoden-in and Eigen-an. However, during the confusion caused by the abolition of Buddhism in the Meiji period (1868-1912), Eigen-an was unfortunately uninhabited and was immediately…
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Ryosoku-in Temple (両足院)
Ryosoku-in is a temple of the Kenninji School of Rinzai Zen Buddhism and a sub-temple of Kenninji Temple. The principal image of the temple is the Amida Nyorai. It was built in the Kamakura period as Chisokuin Temple, founded by Zen priest Ryuzan Tokken. After a fire during the Tenmon period (1532 – 1555), the…
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Kenninji Temple (建仁寺)
In 1202, Minamoto no Yorike, a shogun of the Kamakura period, donated the temple area and founded the Kenninji Temple. Eisai designed the temple, modeling it after Hyakjōzan in the Song Dynasty. In 1259, a Zen monk from the Song Dynasty, Rankei Doryu, founder of Kenchoji Temple, entered the temple, and it became a purely…
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Torin-in Temple (Myoshinji) 東林院
You can enjoy Shojin Ryori (zen vegetarian meals) in Torin-in Temple. Torin-in Temple is one of the sub-temples of Myoshinji Temple and is located on the east side of the temple grounds. The temple is usually closed to the public, but you can visit there during some seasonal festivals and on lunch events. The main…
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Toji-in Temple (等持院)
History Toji-in Temple is a temple of the Tenryuji school of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. Although the temple has a long history and is close to Kinkakuji Temple and Ryoanji Temple, it is quiet tourists rarely visit here. Ashikaga Takauji, the first shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, invited the monk Muso Kokushi and…
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Shoseien Garden (渉成園)
Shoseien Garden is a garden managed by Higashi Honganji Temple, where the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, donated the land in 1641 and created a garden with the style of Ishikawa Jozan. In 1936, the garden was designated a national place of scenic beauty. Official WEB site This garden creates an oasis in a busy district…
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Chion-in Temple (知恩院)
Chion-in Temple is the head temple of the Jodo sect. Chion-in Temple is where Honen, the founder of the Jodo sect, established a hermitage in 1175 and began to propagate Nembutsu (the recitation of the Nembutsu prayer). In the Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu built the present main hall, Sanmon gate, and other…
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Kodaiji Temple (高台寺)
Kodaiji Temple is located between the famous Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Yasaka-Jinja Shrine, up the mountain side from a narrow path commonly called Nene-no-michi. Temple’s official WEB site History of Kodaiji Temple Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife, Nene (Kita-no-Mandokoro) founded the Kodaiji Temple in 1606 as a place of mourning for Hideyoshi. There are many important cultural assets…
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Entoku-in Temple (圓徳院)
Entoku-in Temple is a temple of the Kenninji School of Rinzai Zen Buddhism located in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. It is a sub-temple of Kodaiji Temple. It is known as the place where Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife, Nene, made her own residence in her later years and is also said to be the place of her demise, according…
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Manshu-in Temple (曼殊院)
Manshu-in is a monzeki temple located in Ichijodani. From Enkoji Temple, you will pass through a residential area and walk along a path called Manshuin-do (Manshuin Road), which leads to a wooded area. After passing through there, you will see Manshuin Temple. Manshu-in was originally opened by Saicho as a dojo on Mt. Hiei. It…
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Heian Jingu Shrine (平安神宮)
Heian Jingu Shrine was built in 1895 to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the transfer of the capital to Heian-kyo and to worship Emperor Kanmu, the creator of the Heian-kyo Capital. The shrine was not built in the Heian period. At the time, Kyoto was in a state of decline. The city was devastated by…
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Ginkakuji Temple (銀閣寺)
The official name of Ginkakuji Temple is Higashiyama Jishoji Temple, one of the sub-temples of Shokokuji Temple. Ginkakuji is based on Higashiyama-den, a villa built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the 8th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate. It became a temple after Yoshimasa’s death. Shokokuji Temple Official WEB site (English page) The common name “Ginkaku” (silver pavilion)…
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Shinnyo-do (真如堂)
When you pass through the north gate of Konkai Komyoji Temple, Shinnyo-do Hall is immediately ahead of you. Its official name is Shinsho-Gokurakuji Temple. It is a temple of the Tendai sect, with Hieizan Enryakuji as its head temple. And it was founded in 984. Its common name, Shinnyo-do, refers to the main hall. The…
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Eishoin Temple (栄摂院)
The narrow path from Konkai-komyoji Temple to Shinnyo-do Hall is a path where people in the know can enjoy a foliage walk in the fall. You find Eishoin along this path. This temple is on the north side of Konkai Komyoji Temple, and one of the sub-temples of Konkai Komyoji Temple. It has an eye-catching…
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Konkai Komyoji Temple (金戒光明寺)
Konkai Komyoji Temple is one of the seven head temples of the Jodo sect of Buddhism, and is said to have been built by Honen in 1175. At the end of the Edo period, this temple became the headquarters of the Aizu han (feudal domain), which was appointed as the guardian of Kyoto, and the…
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Nanzenji Temple (南禅寺)
Nanzenji Temple was founded in 1291 by Hōhō Kameyama with Daimyō Kokushi as its master, and is regarded as one of the most prestigious temples in the Zen sect. Upon entering the temple grounds, one is first surprised by the size of the Sanmon Gate, an important cultural property. This is the place where Ishikawa…
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Enkoji Temple (圓光寺)
Enkoji Temple was originally opened by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1601 as Enko-ji School in Fushimi, and was moved to its current location in Ichijodani in 1667. Cultural assets in the temple include a six-panel screen depicting bamboo groves by Maruyama Okyo (Important Cultural Property) and 50,000 wooden typefaces produced in the early modern period (Important…
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Hirano Jinja Shrine (平野神社)
Hirano Shrine is famous for its cherry blossoms. Admission to the garden with many cherry trees is charged during the flowering season. The area around the main shrine (an important cultural property) is free all year round. The origin of Hirano Shrine is old, and it was originally built in the Heijo-kyo Capital and moved…
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Jojakkoji Temple (常寂光寺)
Jojakkoji Temple is a Buddhist temple located in the scenic Saga district. It is on a forested Ogurayama mountainside, offering stunning views of the surrounding landscape. The temple is famous for its beautiful autumn foliage, making it a popular destination for tourists during the fall season. Jojakkoji Temple was founded in the 16th century by…
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Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (嵐山竹林の小径)
Walking through the Tenryuji garden and out the north gate is the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove path. It is a shorter distance than you might imagine, but it is beautiful, lined with tall bamboo. Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is always crowded with tourists, making it difficult to get good photo opportunities. If you want to take…
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Tenryuji Temple (天龍寺), Arashiyama
Tenryuji Temple in Arashiyama is one of the World Heritage Sites in Kyoto. It is the head temple of the Tenryuji School of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, founded by Ashikaga Takauji and Soseki Muso. The temple was built to mourn the loss of Emperor Godaigo, who was an enemy of Ashikaga Takauji, so to speak. Before…
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Sanboin Temple (三宝院), Daigoji Temple
It’s history Sanboin, the sub-temple, is entered from the side of the Daigoji Temple reception desk. Sanboin was built in 1115 and served as the main temple where the head priest of Daigoji resided. The present facility was developed after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s cherry blossom viewing in Daigo in 1598. The garden was basically designed by…
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Anrakuji Temple (安楽寺)
Anrakuji Temple is a temple of the Jodo sect of Buddhism. In the Kamakura period (1185-1333) Two of Honen’s disciples, Juren and Anraku, built a hermitage as a place to practice Nembutsu (the recitation of the Lotus Sutra). Honen-in Temple near Ginkakuji Temple is said to have been built on the site of this hermitage.…
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Chishakuin Temple (智積院)
Chishakuin Temple in Kyoto is the head temple of the Chizan School of Shingon Buddhism. Originally located in Wakayama Prefecture as one of the sub-temples of the Daidenpoin Temple, it was rebuilt in Kyoto in 1598 after a war. Chishakuin Garden Chishakuin Temple has a famous pond garden facing the Daishoin (main drawing room). This…
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Kyoto Imperial Palace (京都御所)
The Kyoto Imperial Palace is open to the public all year round. As a rule, the Palace is closed to visitors every Monday, during the year-end and New Year holidays, and when other events are held. The Kyoto Imperial Palace is often thought of as the Daidairi of Heian-kyo, which is the present-day Imperial Palace,…
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Nijo Castle (二条城)
Nijo Castle was built in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu to guard the Kyoto Imperial Palace and provide lodging for shoguns traveling to Kyoto. 1611 saw Toyotomi Hideyori and Tokugawa Ieyasu meeting at Nijo Castle, and the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, undertook extensive renovations for Emperor Gomizuo’s visit to the castle, including the Ninomaru Palace, which…
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Shinsen-en (神泉苑)
Shinsen-en was a garden pond built adjacent to the Daidairi (Imperial Palace) soon after the construction of the Heian-kyo Capital, but it was reduced in size during the Edo period (1603-1868) with the construction of Nijo Castle. It is now a temple managed by Toji Temple. The following is an excerpt from the Shinsen-en website.…
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Kanchi-in Temple (Toji) 観智院
Kanchiin is one of the sub-temples of Toji Temple. It is just inside the Kita-Soumon gate (an important cultural property) of To-ji Temple. The path from the Kitasomun is called Kushige-koji, which is said to be the very width of the road in ancient Heian-kyo. Kanchiin was a Shingon school. The entrance is just a…
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Keishun-in (Myoshinji) 桂春院
Keishun-in Temple is a sub-temple of Myoshinji Temple. Keishun-in Temple was founded in 1598 by Hidenori Tsuda, the second son of Nobutada Oda, the eldest son of Nobunaga Oda, as Gisei-in Temple. The sliding door paintings in the hojo are by Kano Sansetsu. The tea ceremony room, Kihakuan, used to be in the Nagahama Castle…
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Taizo-in (Myoshinji) 退蔵院
One of the sub-temples near the Myoshinji Butsuden is Taizo-in Temple. This temple is home to the National Treasure “Hyonenzu,” the historic site and place of scenic beauty “Motonobu’s Garden,” a dry landscape garden, and the pond garden “Yokoen,” a garden with a circular garden. Unfortunately, Hyonenzu is not open to the public and you…
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Seiryoji Temple (清凉寺)
Seiryoji Temple, commonly known as Saga Shakado, has Shakyamuni as its principal deity. The standing statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in the main hall is a national treasure and came from India. This statue is usually kept secret and is only open to the public during special visits. Seikaji Temple, the predecessor of Seiryoji Temple, is…
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Gioji Temple (祇王寺)
According to the Tale of the Heike and the Genpei Seisuki, Gioji Temple is where Shirabyoshi (dancer) Gio became a nun at the then Saga Oujoin Temple along with his mother Toji and sister Kojo. Taira no Kiyomori once favored her but later treated her coldly. That’s why Gio decided to become a nun. The…
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Sokushu-in Temple (即宗院)
Sokusho-in was built in 1387 as a memorial to Ujihisa Shimazu of the Satsuma clan. It was burnt down in 1569, but was rebuilt by Iehisa Shimazu in 1613. Since then, the temple has a close relationship with the Satsuma clan. The present temple gate was built when the temple was rebuilt. Sokushu-in, a sub-temple…
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Tofukuji Temple (東福寺)
Tofukuji Temple is the head temple of the Tofukuji School of the Rinzai Sect of Zen Buddhism, and was completed in 1255. The Sanmon Gate is a National Treasure, and there are many other important cultural properties including the Zendo Hall. Tofukuji official WEB site The Sanmon Gate is the oldest and largest of the…
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Komyo-in Temple (光明院)
North of Nanmei-in is Komyo-in, also a sub-temple of Tofukuji Temple. Komyo-in was founded in 1391, at the beginning of the Muromachi Period. Temple’s official WEB site Komyo-in Gardens Visitors can see the “Hashin-tei” garden by Mirei Shigemori, a famous Showa-era gardener. He created this garden together with the Hojo gardens of Tofukuji Temple in…
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Daikakuji Temple (大覚寺)
Daikakuji Temple is the head temple of the Daikakuji School of Shingon Buddhism. The predecessor of Daikakuji Temple was Rikyu Saga-in, a detached palace built by Emperor Saga in the early Heian period, which became Daikakuji Temple in 876. Even today, the temple is not a row of large buildings, but rather a series of…
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Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺)
Katsumoto Hosokawa, general of the Eastern Army in the Onin War, founded Ryoanji Temple in 1450. Ryoanji official WEB site The highlight of Ryoanji Temple is its karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden. The rock garden was built around 1499. The garden consists of 15 carefully arranged rocks of various sizes, surrounded by white gravel. You…
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Myoshinji Temple (妙心寺)
Myoshinji Temple is a renowned Zen Buddhist temple located in the northwest part of Kyoto. It is the largest temple complex in the city of Kyoto and serves as the headquarters of the Myoshinji school of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. Founded in 1337 during the Kamakura period, Myoshinji Temple has a long and…
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Kyutei Omuro (旧邸御室)
Kyutei Omuro, also known as the Omuro Residence, is a historic, traditional Japanese house. It is in the vicinity of the Ninnaji Temple in Kyoto. This house was built in 1937. And it is a Sukiya style architecture with magnificent decorations. Although this building has a short history, it is representative of Kyoto’s architecture and…