Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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371-9181
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Shichijō agaru, Karasuma-dōri, Shimogyō-ku
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admission free
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5.50am-5.30pm Mar-Oct, 6.20am-4.30pm Nov-Feb
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Kyoto Station, JR & Kintetsu lines & Karasuma subway line
Higashi Hongan-ji (Eastern Temple of the True Vow) was established in 1602 by Shō-
gun Tokugawa Ieyasu in a 'divide and conquer' attempt to weaken the power of the
enormously popular Jōdo Shin-shū (True Pure Land) school. The temple is now the
headquarters of the Ōtani branch of Jōdo Shin-shū.
The temple is dominated by the vast Founder's Hall (Goei-dō), which is said to be the
second-largest wooden structure in Japan. Standing 38m high, 76m long and 58m wide,
the recently refurbished hall contains an image of Shinran, the founder of the sect, al-
though the image is often hidden behind sumptuous gilded doors.
A wooden passageway connects the Founder's Hall with the adjoining Amida-dō Hall
(south/left of the Founder's Hall), which contains an image of Amida, the Buddha of the
Western Paradise (also known as 'the Pure Land'). While you can enter the hall, the entire
structure is presently being refurbished and the hall is covered by a vast superstructure.
There's a tremendous coil of rope made from human hair on display in the passageway.
Following the destruction of the temple in the 1880s, a group of female temple devotees
donated their locks to make the ropes that hauled the massive timbers used for reconstruc-
tion.
