Chion-in Temple

Head Temple of the Jodo School at the Foot of Higashiyama

The Chion-in Temple (知恩院, Chion-in) is the head temple of the Jodo school of Buddhism in Rinka-cho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, whose early Edo main hall (Miedo) and Sanmon gate were designated National Treasures in 2002; the Seishido hall, sutra repository, Karamon gate, great bell tower, great abbot's quarters and other buildings are Important Cultural Properties, and the Amida hall corridor, ossuary and other buildings are Registered Tangible Cultural Properties.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the temple is laid out on three levels: the Seishido hall and founder's mausoleum above, the main buildings in the middle, and the Sanmon gate and sub-temples below.

The Agency describes Chion-in as the head temple of the Jodo school, which has had a broad influence on Japanese society.

The Main Hall and the Sanmon Gate

According to the Agency, the main hall (Miedo) was built by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1639 after the previous hall burned in 1633. Its exterior is in Japanese style, while inside Zen-style techniques create a forest of columns, expressing to the full the architecture of a Jodo main hall.

The Sanmon gate, conceived by Tokugawa Hidetada in 1619 and completed in 1621, is a two-storey gate five bays wide with three entrances and flanking stair halls. The Agency calls it the largest surviving two-storey gate and a symbol of the Jodo head temple.

Other Buildings in the Precinct

The Agency records the Seishido hall on the upper level as a late Muromachi hip-and-gable building seven bays square. The sutra repository is an early Edo pyramidal building with a pent roof, the Karamon an early Edo four-legged gate with cusped gables front and back, and the great bell tower a mid-Edo building.

The Meiji-period Amida hall and the corridor linking it to the main hall, and the ossuary designed by Sakatani Ryonoshin in the early Showa period, are registered properties. The Agency describes the corridor as a stately link between the great halls and the ossuary as a fine modern Buddhist building based on an understanding of classical forms.

Visiting Chion-in

Chion-in says its gates are open 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with reception desks from 9:00 a.m.; hours differ on some festival days. While the Seishido hall is under repair, the mausoleum is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Garden admission is 300 yen for adults for the Yuzen-en, 400 yen for the Hojo garden and 500 yen for both. A free shuttle bus runs from the Sanmon gate to the main hall, and photography and recording inside the halls are prohibited.