⛩️ Kennin-ji Temple

Kenninji Temple is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto and serves as the head temple of the Rinzai sect's Kenninji school. The temple was founded in 1202, with land donated by Minamoto no Yoriie, the second shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, and the famous Japanese monk "Eisai Zenji" as its founding master. The temple was once renowned as the third of the Five Mountains of Kyoto, enjoying a period of great prosperity, but later fell into disrepair due to wars and fires. During the Keicho period, the monk Ankokuji Ekin moved his residence to Kenninji and conducted renovations, rebuilding the temple under the protection of the Tokugawa shogunate. Later, due to the religious policies of the Meiji government and other factors, it became an independent head temple of the Rinzai sect's Kenninji school. Kodaiji and Hokanji (Yasaka Tower) are branch temples of Kenninji. The temple complex features a vast area centered around the main gate, the Chumon, with the Sanmon, Hōdō, and Hōjō arranged in a straight line. The Chumon, facing the main gate, is a four-column gate with a copper roof in the gabled style, preserved as a relic from the late Kamakura period and designated as an Important Cultural Property. The beams and door panels bear marks from arrows due to wartime damage, hence it is also known as "Yashinokado" or "Yatate-mon." The Hōdō, completed in the second year of the Meiwa era (1765), is a Zen-style Buddhist hall with five bays and four bays, featuring a single story and a raised platform, exuding a grand atmosphere. The famous ceiling painting "Twin Dragons" was created in 2002 by the artist Koizumi Jun to commemorate the temple's 800th anniversary, showcasing a magnificent scale of 108 tatami mats. The adjacent Hōjō was relocated from Ankokuji in Aki in the fourth year of Keicho (1599) and, along with 50 fusuma paintings by Kaihō Yūshō depicting the Momoyama period, has been designated as an Important Cultural Property. The Hōjō also houses the national treasure "Fūjin Raijin-zu Byōbu," painted by the Rinpa school representative Tawaraya Sōtatsu. Since the original works are stored at the Kyoto National Museum, the on-site display features high-quality digital reproductions.

The Chūshi Gate, which retains the style of the Kamakura period. The grand work "Twin Dragons" painted on the ceiling of the Hōdō. A replica of the fusuma paintings by the famous painter Kaihō Yūsetsu from the Momoyama period. A replica of the national treasure "Wind God and Thunder God Screens" by Tawaraya Sōtatsu.