Chishakuin Temple (Kyoto)

 temple, buddhist temple

Shingon sect Chizan-ha (智山派) or Chizan group headquarters. Starting point of the Kyoto Jusan Butsu pilgrimage.

It also boasts an excellent Shoheki-ga (Fusuma-e) paintings that are National Treasures, as well as a very good garden.

The Aoba Matsuri, or Green Leaves Festival is held every year in the temple premises on 15 June. In this ancient ritual, followers of the Shingon-shu Buddhist sect (Yamabushi), that have been training for a long time in the mountains participate in a series of ceremonies.

Chishaku-in was founded in the 14th century as a sub-temple of Daidenpo-in that was established in Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture by Priest Kakuban (1095-1144), in the year 1130. The mother temple then moved to Negorosan in Wakayama prefecture ten years later.

In the year 1585, Daidenpo-in, including its sub-temples, was totally destroyed by the actual ruler of the country, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598). Chief Priest of Chishaku-in, Genyu (Gen'yu, 1529-1605), who fled from the assault, had to wait until the Toyotomi family was destroyed and the Tokugawa family came to power. In the year 1601, the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu (1543-1616) gave a place to Genyu to revive Chishaku-in. Then, in the year 1615, Ieyasu gave them neighboring Shounzen-ji temple that had been founded by Hideyoshi in memory of his son Sutemaru who died in 1591 at the age of three.

The extant Shoheki-ga (or Fusuma-e) paintings (national treasures) were those displayed in Kyakuden building of Shounzen-ji. Chishaku-in suffered from several fires during its history and about half of the paintings were lost.

Getting here: Kyoto City bus 208 or 206 from Kyoto Station to Higashiyama-Shichijo (please note that the bus stop may be called "Higashiyama-Nanajo" instead of "Shichijo"). It takes about 10 minutes.

Three minutes of walk from Sanjusangen-do.

Hours and Admission:
09:00-16:00
500 yen

kyoto.asanoxn.com/places/higashiyama_sth/chishakuin.htm