Koryuji Temple

An Ancient Temple of Uzumasa

The Koryuji Temple (広隆寺, Koryuji) in Uzumasa Hachioka-cho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, has an early Kamakura octagonal hall, the Keikyuin main hall, designated a National Treasure in 1953, and a late Heian lecture hall that is an Important Cultural Property.

The Kyoto Prefecture tourism federation describes Koryuji as the oldest temple in the Yamashiro region.

The federation notes that it enshrines the crowned Miroku Bosatsu in meditation, said to be the first object designated a National Treasure.

The Keikyuin Main Hall and Lecture Hall

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Keikyuin stands in the northwest corner of the precinct and is said to have been founded by Prince Shotoku. A fundraising record suggests it had fallen into ruin by 1247 to 1249, and the present hall appears to date from about 1251.

The Keikyuin main hall is an octagonal building ringed by a veranda, with a gently pitched cypress-bark roof topped by a jewel finial. Inside there are no posts, and the ceiling slopes gently in eight directions from the centre.

The Agency records the lecture hall as a late Heian building five bays by four, hipped with a traditional tile roof.

A Kamakura Round Hall

The Agency values the Keikyuin main hall as a light, elegant hall of unpainted timber with delicate proportions, and a precious example of Kamakura-period round-hall architecture.

Koryuji thus preserves two designated buildings of different ages: a late Heian lecture hall and a Kamakura octagonal hall.

Visiting Koryuji

No official information on visiting hours or on when the Keikyuin is open could be found.

Please check with Koryuji before visiting.