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A connection with a Buddha image may appear unexpectedly. Search for places that may lead you to your own My Buddha.
Kichidenji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Dainichi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県生駒郡斑鳩町小吉田1-1-23
Visiting Status Hidden image; special opening November 1–3, 2026
MysteryStillnessSolemnity
A hidden seated Dainichi Nyorai is enshrined inside Kichidenji Temple's Important Cultural Property Tahoto Pagoda. The roughly 12-meter-tall pagoda dates to the Muromachi period and is normally closed. It will be specially opened November 1–3, 2026, offering a rare chance to view the esoteric Buddhist image inside.
Hokkeji Temple
Buddhist Image Monju Bosatsu Riding a Lion Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県奈良市法華寺町882
Visiting Status Open year-round (9:00–16:30)
DepthNobilityMystery
This Kamakura-period Monju Bosatsu riding a lion is enshrined in Hokkeji Temple's Main Hall. The bodhisattva sits on a lotus atop the lion, holding a sword in the right hand and a lotus bearing a sutra scroll in the left. X-ray CT examination revealed about 180 enclosed objects, including a reliquary and scrolls, making it an important witness to Monju devotion during Hokkeji's medieval revival.
Saidaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Kisshoten Category Tenbu (Deva)
奈良県奈良市西大寺芝町1丁目1-5
Visiting Status Displayed during Shuhokan opening periods (Jan 15–Feb 4, Apr 20–May 10, Oct 25–Nov 15; 9:00–16:30)
NobilityRefinementSolemnity
The Important Cultural Property standing Kisshoten is displayed in Saidaiji Temple's Shuhokan. A polychrome wood-core dry-lacquer image from the Heian period, it stands 184.3 cm tall. It is thought to correspond to the life-size Kisshoten recorded in the temple's Four Heavenly Kings Hall in 1140 and may have served as one of the principal images in ceremonies held there under Eison.
Toshodaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Miroku Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県奈良市五条町13-46
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (8:30–17:00; last admission 16:30)
DignityPowerSolemnity
The Important Cultural Property seated Miroku Nyorai is the principal image of Toshodaiji Temple's Lecture Hall. Made in the Kamakura period using joined-block construction, the 2.84-meter figure has boldly defined features and a powerful expression characteristic of Kamakura sculpture. It can be viewed during regular admission inside the National Treasure Lecture Hall, a building relocated from the Heijo Palace complex.
Saidaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Monju Bosatsu Riding a Lion with Four Attendants Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県奈良市西大寺芝町1丁目1-5
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (8:30–16:30; last admission 16:00)
NobilityDepthSolemnity
This Important Cultural Property group in Saidaiji Temple's Main Hall centers on Monju Bosatsu riding a lion, accompanied by Zenzai Doji, Utenno, Buddhabhari, and Saisho Rojin. Based on the Wutaishan tradition of Manjusri devotion, the five-figure ensemble was completed in 1302 after Eison's death at the initiative of his disciples. Numerous devotional objects were placed inside the central image.
Saidaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Miroku Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県奈良市西大寺芝町1丁目1-5
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (8:30–16:30; last admission 16:00)
DignityPeacefulnessSolemnity
The Important Cultural Property seated Miroku Bosatsu is enshrined on the east side altar of Saidaiji Temple's Main Hall. A Kamakura-period wooden lacquer-gilt sculpture, it reaches 276.3 cm in height and has the monumental scale of a jo-roku image. Eison's disciples commissioned it after his death to continue his devotion to Miroku, and it was completed in 1322 for the thirty-third anniversary of his passing.
Toshodaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Shishiku Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県奈良市五条町13-46
Visiting Status Displayed during Shin-Hozo opening periods (9:00–16:00)
MysteryPowerDepth
The National Treasure standing Shishiku Bosatsu is displayed in Toshodaiji Temple's Shin-Hozo Treasure Hall. This wooden image belongs to the late eighth-century group once housed in the old Lecture Hall. It is understood to have originally represented Fukukensaku Kannon with three eyes and four arms, and its broad Tang-style modeling preserves the distinctive character of early Buddhist sculpture associated with Toshodaiji.
Toshodaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Shuho-o Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県奈良市五条町13-46
Visiting Status Displayed during Shin-Hozo opening periods (9:00–16:00)
NobilityMysterySolemnity
The National Treasure standing Shuho-o Bosatsu is displayed in Toshodaiji Temple's Shin-Hozo Treasure Hall. A single-block wooden sculpture from the late eighth-century old Lecture Hall group, it is said to embody a bodhisattva image once possessed by Ganjin himself. A vertical third eye on the forehead and traces of multiple lost arms suggest that it was originally created as Fukukensaku Kannon.
Omido Kannonji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Eleven-Faced Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京田辺市普賢寺下大門13
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (9:00–17:00)
NobilityRefinementSolemnity
An old temple traditionally founded by the monk Gyobuchi at the imperial wish of Emperor Tenmu. The Eleven-Faced Kannon standing image in the Main Hall is designated a National Treasure and is one of the few National Treasure Eleven-Faced Kannon images in Japan. After repeated fires, the Omido hall was rebuilt and continues to protect the principal image amid the rural hills. Open year-round from 9:00 to 17:00, it is one of southern Kyoto’s strongest destinations for encountering the Buddhist image itself.
Juhoji Temple
Buddhist Image Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京田辺市三山木塔ノ島20
Visiting Status Advance reservation required (by the previous day)
MysteryDignityGentleness
An old temple traditionally founded in the era of Emperor Tenmu. The Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Kannon standing image in the Main Hall is designated an Important Cultural Property and is a wooden statue about 180 cm tall. It is renowned as a Thousand-Armed Kannon with an actual thousand arms, with an eye painted on each hand. Viewing requires advance reservation by the previous day, making this a particularly valuable place in southern Kyoto for a direct encounter with the Buddhist image under clearly defined conditions.
Shokokuji Temple
Buddhist Image Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市上京区今出川通烏丸東入相国寺門前町701
Visiting Status Viewing available only during the spring and autumn special opening periods
DignityRefinementSolemnity
The head temple of the Rinzai Shokokuji school. Its Hatto Hall was rebuilt in 1605 with a donation from Toyotomi Hideyori and also serves the role of the Buddha Hall, which was not rebuilt after the Onin War. Shaka Nyorai is enshrined on the central altar as the principal image. The historic hall interior opens to the public during special viewing periods in spring and autumn, providing a clearly defined opportunity to worship the principal image in the central space of this major Zen temple.
Jishoji (Ginkakuji) Temple
Buddhist Image Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市左京区銀閣寺町2
Visiting Status Normally closed; open during the autumn special viewing period (Nov. 1–Dec. 5, 2026)
RefinementStillnessNobility
The Main Hall of Jishoji, widely known as Ginkakuji, enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha as its principal image. The hall interior is not included in regular grounds admission, but it opens during the autumn special viewing period; in 2026, guided visits are offered from November 1 through December 5. Although the temple is best known for its garden and Kannon Hall, this clearly defined opening provides a valuable opportunity to worship the principal image at the center of the temple’s religious life.
Kongo-in Temple
Buddhist Image Jinja Daisho (Deep Sand General) Standing Image Category Tenbu (Deva)
京都府舞鶴市鹿原595
Visiting Status Advance reservation required (Treasure Hall)
PowerDignityTense Presence
An old temple in Maizuru traditionally founded in the early Heian period by Prince Takaoka and later revived by Emperor Shirakawa. The standing image of Jinja Daisho in the Treasure Hall is known as a representative masterpiece by the Kamakura-period Buddhist sculptor Kaikei and is designated an Important Cultural Property. Its powerful form conveys the realism and taut presence characteristic of Kamakura sculpture. The Treasure Hall can be viewed by advance reservation, giving general visitors a clearly defined opportunity to encounter this major work.
Tenryuji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市右京区嵯峨天龍寺芒ノ馬場町68
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (temple buildings 8:30–16:45)
DignityStillnessDepth
The head temple of the Rinzai Tenryuji school. The seated Shaka Nyorai enshrined as the principal image of the Daihojo is believed to date from the late Heian period and is designated an Important Cultural Property. It survived all eight major fires suffered by Tenryuji and is the oldest Buddhist image worshipped at the temple. The Daihojo and other temple buildings are normally open to visitors, offering a rare opportunity to encounter the principal image that has endured the temple’s long history.
Chion-in Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市東山区林下町400
Visiting Status Regular worship available (gates open 6:00–16:00)
PeacefulnessSolemnityWarmth
Chion-in, the head temple of the Jodo school, enshrines a seated Amida Nyorai 2.7 meters tall as the principal image of its Amida Hall. The present hall was rebuilt in 1910 and remains a place where worshippers face Amida and direct their thoughts toward the Western Pure Land. The temple grounds are normally open from 6:00 to 16:00, offering visitors a direct encounter with the living nenbutsu faith centered on this monumental Amida image.
Sekihoji Temple
Buddhist Image Five Hundred Arhat Stone Statue Group Category Other
京都府京都市伏見区深草石峰寺山町26
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (9:00–16:00)
MysteryStillnessDepth
At Sekihoji, an Obaku Zen temple, visitors can walk among roughly five hundred stone Buddhist figures on Rakan Hill behind the Main Hall. The group is traditionally said to have been designed by the Edo-period painter Ito Jakuchu and created with the cooperation of the temple’s abbot, unfolding a Buddhist world centered on episodes from Shaka’s birth to his nirvana. About five hundred figures survive and can be viewed year-round from 9:00 to 16:00; photography and sketching are prohibited. The experience of moving through the outdoor Buddhist statuary itself makes this a distinctive spot.
Manpukuji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Miroku Bosatsu (Hotei) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府宇治市五ケ庄三番割34
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (9:00–17:00)
WarmthGentlenessSolemnity
At Manpukuji, the head temple of the Obaku school, a seated Miroku Bosatsu in the form of Hotei is enshrined at the center of Tenno-den Hall. The wooden image was made in 1663 by Fan Daosheng, a Buddhist sculptor from Fujian, China, and stands 110.3 cm high. Hotei is regarded as an incarnation of Miroku, and at Manpukuji the figure is worshipped as Miroku Buddha. It can be seen during regular temple visits from 9:00 to 17:00 and vividly reflects the Chinese Buddhist culture preserved at the temple.
Higashi Honganji
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市下京区烏丸通七条上る常葉町754
Visiting Status Regular worship available during opening hours (Mar–Oct 5:50–17:30 / Nov–Feb 6:20–16:30)
SolemnityPeacefulnessWarmth
The Amida Hall of Shinshu Honbyo (Higashi Honganji), the head temple of the Shinshu Otani school, enshrines Amida Nyorai as its principal image. The present hall was rebuilt in 1895 and designated an Important Cultural Property in 2019. Its inner sanctuary is covered in gold to express the Pure Land described in the Amida Sutra. Visitors may enter and worship without reservation or charge during opening hours, and the hall remains a living center for services and daily devotion.
Zensoji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Stone Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
京都府京都市中京区六角通大宮西入三条大宮町240
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (9:00–17:00)
PeacefulnessDepthStillness
At the entrance to Zensoji’s cemetery stands a stone image of Amida Nyorai. Carved from granite known as Shirakawa red stone, the temple dates the image to the late Heian period. Amida sits before a natural-stone halo about 1.6 meters high, while the figure itself measures about 90 cm. Worshipped at this site for more than 800 years, it is freely accessible to general visitors from 9:00 to 17:00 and offers a rare direct encounter with an ancient stone Buddha in central Kyoto.
Shohoji Temple
Buddhist Image Three-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon Image Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
京都府京都市西京区大原野南春日町1102
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (9:00–17:00)
MysterySolemnityRefinement
Shohoji, a temple of the Toji branch of Shingon Buddhism south of Oharano Shrine, enshrines a distinctive Three-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon in its Main Hall. The image is designated an Important Cultural Property. The temple traces its origins to the monk Chii, a disciple of Ganjin who came to Japan with his master and practiced at this site. Regular admission is available from 9:00 to 17:00, making this a valuable place to encounter an unusually formed Thousand-Armed Kannon in person.