Kimpusen-ji
Yoshino's Zao-do Hall and the Blue Zao Gongen, Shown Only in Spring and Autumn
The head temple of Kimpusen Shugen Honshu, a Shugendo school, halfway up Mount Yoshino. Its main ...
Chogosonshi-ji
The Tiger Temple of Mount Shigi, Home Ground of Bishamonten and the Shigisan Engi Scrolls
A sprawling temple on Mount Shigi in Heguri, given over to Bishamonten and to tigers: legend says...
Rinno-ji
Nikko's Head Temple: Three Gilded Buddhas in Sanbutsudo and Iemitsu's Black-and-Gold Taiyuin
The Tendai temple that has run Nikko's mountain worship since the monk Shodo opened it in 766. Tw...
Kairyuo-ji
A Four-Metre Five-Storey Pagoda Kept Indoors Since the Nara Period, Next Door to Hokke-ji
A small temple in the north-east corner of what was Empress Komyo's palace, a couple of minutes f...
Daisho-in
Prayer Wheels and Rows of Rakan Statues at the Foot of Mount Misen
Miyajima's oldest temple, at the foot of Mount Misen, traced by tradition to Kukai in 806. Stone ...
Hosen-in
Matcha in Front of a 700-Year-Old Pine, Under a Blood-Stained Ceiling
A small Tendai temple at the far end of Ohara's approach lane, beyond Sanzen-in, where the 1,000-...
Ikegami Honmon-ji
Where Nichiren Died, and 300,000 People Come on One October Night
Head temple of the Nichiren school on a hill in Ota Ward, built where Nichiren died in 1282. Free...
Matsuo-dera
A Hilltop Temple West of Yamato-Koriyama That Calls Itself Japan's Oldest for Warding Off Bad Luck
A Shingon temple on Mount Matsuo at the south end of the Yata hills, which by its own account was...
Saidai-ji
Three Minutes from Yamato-Saidaiji Station, a Temple Where Tea Is Passed Round in a Giant Bowl
Once the western counterpart of Todai-ji, now a set of Edo-period halls three minutes from a busy...
Fudarakusan-ji
The Nachi Beach Temple Where Monks Set Sail, Sealed In, for Kannon's Paradise
A small Tendai temple by Nachi beach, a branch of Seiganto-ji, where monks once set out in small ...
Jison-in
Kukai's Mother's Temple at the Foot of Koyasan, Where the Choishi-michi Begins
A small Shingon temple by the Kinokawa river where, by tradition, Kukai's mother lived out her li...
Shin-Yakushi-ji
Twelve Clay Generals from the 8th Century, in a Quiet Lane Below Mount Takamado
A small temple in the Takabatake district, south of Kasuga Taisha, with one Nara-period hall and ...
Abe Monju-in
Kaikei's 7-Metre Monju on a Lion, Abe no Seimei's Hall and a Cosmos Maze in Sakurai
A temple of the Abe clan south of Sakurai Station. The main hall holds a group of five National T...
Kiyoshikojin Seicho-ji Temple
A climbing shopping street leads to Kiyoshikojin, where Buddhist worship meets devotion to the gu...
Ushiku Daibutsu
A monumental bronze Amida Buddha with interior worship spaces and observation windows, set in gro...