Nishi Hongan-Ji

Lonely Planet review

This temple makes for a nice change from the incessant crowds of Higashi Hongan-ji. As with its counterpart, Nishi Hongan-ji is an easy walk from the station and it's free. The interior of the main hall here is both gaudy and sublime.

Nishi Hongan-ji was originally built in 1272 in the Higashiyama Mountains by the priestess Kakushin, daughter of Shinran, who was founder of the Buddhist Jōdo Shin-shū school.

The temple complex was relocated to its present site in 1591, on land provided by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (16th-century shōgun). By then, the Jōdo Shin-shū had accumulated immense power and the temple became its headquarters. Tokugawa Ieyasu sought to weaken the power of Jōdo Shin-shū by encouraging a breakaway faction to found Higashi Hongan-ji in 1602. The original Hongan-ji then became known as Nishi Hongan-ji. It is now the headquarters of the Hongan-ji branch of Jōdo Shin-shū, which has over 10,000 temples and 12 million followers worldwide.

The temple contains five buildings, featuring some of the finest examples of the architectural and artistic achievements of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600). Unfortunately, the Goe-dō hall is presently being restored and will be under wraps until 2010. The Daisho-in hall has sumptuous paintings, carvings and metal ornamentation. A small garden and Japan's oldest nō (stylised dance-drama) stages are connected to the Daisho-in hall. The dazzling Chinese-style Kara-mon gate displays intricate ornamental carvings and metalwork. The gate has been dubbed Higurashi-mon (Sunset Gate) by those who purport that its beauty can distract one from noticing the setting sun. Both Daisho-in and Kara-mon were transported here from Fushimi-jō castle in the south of the city.

The Goe-dō dates from 1636 and contains a seated statue of Shinran. The Hondō, last reconstructed in 1760, houses a priceless collection of painted sliding screens with images of the phoenix and peacock.