Find Buddhist Spots
A connection with a Buddha image may appear unexpectedly. Search for places that may lead you to your own My Buddha.
Ichijōden Shinzenkō-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public; viewable during special openings
PeacefulnessWarmthPurity
Ichijōden Shin-Zenkō-ji, a subtemple of Sennyū-ji, was founded in 1243 at the request of Emperor Go-Saga. Its main hall enshrines a standing Amida Nyorai cast in the same sacred form as the image at Zenkō-ji in Shinano, preserving the Zenkō-ji tradition of devotion in Kyoto. In the quiet temple precincts, visitors can sense both Amida’s promise of salvation and the refined dignity of a temple long connected with the imperial family.
Kurama-dera Temple
Buddhist Image Sonten Category Other
Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Main Golden Hall is open for worship; the hidden main image is opened once every 60 years
PowerMysteryDepth
Kurama-dera’s Main Golden Hall is the central sanctuary of Sonten, the cosmic life force revered as the temple’s principal sacred reality. Sonten is manifested in three forms: Senju Kannon, embodying love and the energy of the moon; Bishamonten, embodying light and the energy of the sun; and Gohō Maōson, embodying power and the energy of the earth. The three are worshipped as one. Although the principal images are hidden and unveiled only once every sixty years, the hall and Mount Kurama itself convey a powerful sense of mystery, vitality, and prayer.
Shōji-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
StillnessPeacefulnessDepth
Shōjiji is an ancient Tendai temple in Ōharano, widely known as Hana no Tera, the Temple of Flowers. Rurikō-den Hall houses the principal image, Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha), sustaining a tradition of prayer for healing illness and dispelling spiritual uncertainty. The temple is also associated with the poet-monk Saigyō. Amid mountain stillness and seasonal blossoms, visitors can sense gentle devotion and the long passage of history.
Otokuni-dera Temple
Buddhist Image Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Nagaokakyō City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Special opening
GentlenessDepthPurity
Otokuni-dera’s main hall houses an Important Cultural Property standing image of Jūichimen Kannon (Eleven-Headed Kannon). Documents discovered inside the statue during restoration revealed it to be Japan’s oldest surviving ichinichi zōryūbutsu—an image carved and consecrated within a single day. It is normally shown only during special openings in spring and autumn. Known for its peonies, the ancient temple also preserves memories of Kūkai, who served as its administrator and met Saichō here, bringing together floral brightness and a quiet depth of devotion.
Jinzō-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Please check before visiting
StillnessDepthPurity
Jinzō-ji is a historic temple in Kameoka, surrounded by the natural beauty of Mount Asahi. Affectionately known as Saeki Yakushi and Hiedano Yakushi, its main hall enshrines a seated image of Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha) designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Long cherished as a place of prayer for healing illness and dispelling uncertainty, the temple offers a calm encounter with gentle devotion and a deep sense of history in its quiet mountain setting.
Jōjū-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Temple grounds are open to visitors; the Main Hall and Hōjō are normally closed to the public
RefinementStillnessPurity
The Main Hall of Jōjū-ji, at the foot of Mount Hamuro, enshrines a seated Shakyamuni Buddha as its principal image. Dressed in robes with a front-tied sash, the image reflects the Ming-style Chinese character of an Ōbaku Zen temple. The hall also houses statues of Bodhidharma and Huaguang Bodhisattva, a guardian deity often enshrined in Ōbaku temples. Although the interior is normally open only on special occasions, the quiet grounds preserve the depth and refined atmosphere of this historic temple in western Kyoto.
Tanshū Kannon-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Jūichimen Senju Sengan Kannon Bosatsu (Eleven-Headed Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
GentlenessWarmthPeacefulness
Tanshū Kannon-ji was founded, according to temple tradition, in 720 and later flourished as a center of Kannon devotion in the Tamba region. Its main hall enshrines a hidden Eleven-Headed, Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Kannon as the principal image. The temple is also celebrated as Tamba’s Hydrangea Temple, where some ten thousand hydrangeas of around one hundred varieties create a vision likened to a floral Pure Land. Beneath this brightness lies more than thirteen centuries of prayer, giving the grounds both warmth and quiet spiritual depth.
Kōmyō-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Nagaokakyō City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
PeacefulnessDignityPurity
The Amida Hall of Kōmyō-ji, head temple of Seizan Jōdo-shū, enshrines a standing Amida Buddha approximately two meters tall. Traditionally attributed to Genshin and said to have been consecrated by Hōnen, the image has been worshipped here since the temple’s earlier Nembutsu Zanmai-in period. The hall, rebuilt in 1799 and linked by a corridor to the imposing Miei-dō, quietly preserves the nenbutsu prayers of generations seeking rebirth in the Pure Land, apart from the temple’s celebrated autumn colors.
Chion-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Monju Bosatsu / Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Monju Hall is open for worship; the main image is hidden and opened several times a year
PurityNobilityWarmth
Chion-ji stands beside Amanohashidate and is revered as one of Japan’s Three Great Monju temples. Its Monju Hall enshrines an Important Cultural Property triad: Monju Bosatsu (Manjushri), riding a lion, accompanied by Sudhana and King Udayana. The principal image is normally concealed, but is unveiled on seven days each year. More than a deity of academic success, Monju embodies the wisdom to perceive truth clearly and the compassion to guide others, making the temple a place of prayer for learning and for finding one’s path.
Nariai-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Sho Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Main Hall is open to visitors; the main image is hidden and normally closed to the public
GentlenessPurityPeacefulness
Nariai-ji is an ancient temple overlooking Amanohashidate and the 28th temple of the Saigoku Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. Founded, according to tradition, in 704 as an imperial temple, it grew from a sacred site of mountain ascetic practice. Its hidden principal image is Shō Kannon (Avalokiteshvara), revered as Migawari Kannon, who takes suffering in the place of devotees, and as Bijin Kannon, the Kannon of Beauty. Traditionally unveiled at long intervals, the image and the temple’s founding legend convey Kannon’s compassion amid sweeping views of one of Japan’s Three Scenic Views.
Matsunoo-dera Temple
Buddhist Image Bato Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
PowerDepthMystery
Matsunoo-dera, the 29th temple of the Saigoku Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, stands halfway up Mount Aoba. Its hidden principal image is Batō Kannon (Horse-Headed Kannon), the only principal image of this form among the thirty-three temples. With three faces, three eyes, and eight arms, the wrathful Kannon is revered for cutting through delusion and worldly desire and for protecting agriculture, fishing, livestock, and travel. The mountain setting reveals a powerful dimension of Kannon devotion that goes beyond gentleness alone.
Kaniman-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
DignityDepthPeacefulness
Kaniman-ji’s main hall enshrines a National Treasure gilt-bronze seated Shaka Nyorai (Shakyamuni Buddha), approximately 2.4 meters high and weighing more than two tons. Created around the late seventh century, it is an outstanding work of Hakuhō-period Buddhist art, with a calm expression and monumental presence characteristic of early Japanese sculpture. The temple is also famed for the legend of a crab repaying a girl’s kindness, adding a memorable narrative to this encounter with an ancient Buddha.
Zenjō-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Ujitawara Town, Tsuzuki District, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
StillnessGentlenessDepth
Zenjoji’s treasure hall houses its principal image, an Important Cultural Property standing Jūichimen Kannon (Eleven-Headed Kannon). Made in the late tenth century, the gilt wooden image stands 2.86 meters high and preserves the dignified fullness of early Fujiwara-period sculpture. The temple itself was founded in 991 and later became a Sōtō Zen temple. Encountering the monumental Kannon in the quiet mountain landscape of Ujitawara reveals the weight of devotion sustained for more than a thousand years.
Anao-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Sho Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Main Hall is open to visitors; the main image is hidden and normally closed to the public
GentlenessWarmthPeacefulness
Anō-ji is a historic temple in Kameoka and the 21st temple of the Saigoku Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. Its main hall enshrines Shō Kannon (Avalokiteshvara), revered as Migawari Kannon and believed to take on the suffering of devotees, continuing a tradition of prayer for those facing illness and hardship. The hall also contains a reclining image of Shakyamuni Buddha known as the Nadebotoke, which worshippers gently touch while praying for healing. Together with the quiet garden, the temple offers a gentle place of prayer.
Jindō-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Zao Gongen Category Other
Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Please check before visiting
StillnessDepthPurity
Jindō-ji is an ancient temple in the mountains of Yamashiro, Kizugawa, long revered as a sacred site of Shugendō mountain asceticism. Tradition holds that Prince Shōtoku founded the temple and that the ascetic En no Gyōja carved its principal image, Zaō Gongen, with the aid of two divine children. The present main hall, also called Zaō-dō, dates from the Muromachi period and is an Important Cultural Property. Its powerful deity and secluded setting preserve the solemn intensity of southern Yamashiro’s mountain faith.
Gansen-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
PeacefulnessStillnessPurity
Gansen-ji is an ancient temple in Tōno, southern Kyoto Prefecture, affectionately known as a temple of flowers. Its main hall houses an Important Cultural Property seated Amida Nyorai (Amitabha), nearly three meters high and carved on the monumental jōroku scale. An inscription inside the image indicates that it was made in 946, making it an outstanding work of mid-Heian Buddhist sculpture. Together with the three-story pagoda and seasonal flowers, the serene Buddha reveals the depth of devotion preserved in Tōno.
Kasagi-dera Temple
Buddhist Image Rock-carved Miroku Buddha (Maitreya) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Kasagi Town, Sōraku District, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
MysteryDepthPower
Kasagi-dera’s principal object of worship is the vanished Miroku (Maitreya) cliff carving once formed on a massive rock face on Mount Kasagi. Repeated fires and the destruction of the Genkō conflict caused the figure to disappear; today the enormous halo remaining on the approximately fifteen-meter-high rock preserves the memory of its former presence. At this ancient center of sacred-rock worship and mountain practice, natural stone and prayer remain inseparable, while the missing figure invites visitors to imagine what time has taken away.
Yanagidani Kannon Yōkoku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Jūichimen Senju Sengan Kannon Bosatsu (Eleven-Headed Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Nagaokakyō City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors
GentlenessMysteryStillness
Yokoku-ji’s main hall enshrines a hidden Jūichimen Senju Sengen Kannon (Eleven-Headed, Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Kannon), long revered as Yanagidani Kannon for healing ailments of the eyes. The principal image is unveiled during special prayers and on the 17th and 18th of each month. Shōteki Bishamonten and Shōgun Jizō stand as attendant deities. Beyond the temple’s hydrangeas and flower-filled purification basins, the hall reveals the heart of a Kannon devotion that watches over every direction with compassionate hands and eyes.
Manshu-in Monzeki Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Please check before visiting
NobilityStillnessPurity
Manshu-in is a Tendai monzeki temple in northern Kyoto. Its Shinden, rebuilt after an absence of 150 years, is the central ceremonial hall of an imperial temple and enshrines memorial tablets of successive emperors and members of the imperial family. An image of Amida Nyorai anchors the restored devotional space, where courtly refinement meets prayer for the Pure Land. Together with the elegant shoin architecture and garden, the hall offers an atmosphere of dignified contemplation.
Zuiganzan Enkō-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Senju Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Please check before visiting
GentlenessStillnessPeacefulness
Enkouji is a Rinzai Zen temple of the Nanzen-ji school in Ichijōji, founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Its principal image is a seated Senju Kannon (Thousand-Armed Kannon) traditionally attributed to the sculptor Unkei. Together with the stillness of the gardens, the image creates a gentle atmosphere of prayer. The temple is also known for Jūgyū-no-niwa, the Ten Bulls Garden, and its suikinkutsu water harp, offering an encounter with Kannon’s compassion amid the nature and Zen spirit of northern Kyoto.