Goten-mon Gate
Shuin 2(templestamp)

Jigen Garden

Shuin 1(templestamp)

Amitabha Trinity (National Treasure)Yusei-en Garden

Shuheki-en Garden
Ennyu-bo

Shuin 3(templestamp)

Ennyu-zo
Treasure
House

Types andShuin 1 Konjiki Fudo Myoo・Benzai-ten
Shuin 2 Kannon Bosatsu
Location of Shuin
Shuin 3 Yakushi Nyorai・Amitabha Trinity (All the five Shuin, or temple stamps, can be checked here.)(Temple Stamp),● Visitor s Hours:

March through December 7
8:30 - 17:30 (Entry closes at 17:00)
December 8 through February 9:00 - 17:00 (Entry closes at 16:30)

Sanzen-in Monzeki Administration Office
540 Raigoin-cho, Ohara, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 601-1242
TEL: 075-744-2531 FAX: 075-744-2480
URL http://www.sanzenin.or.jp

The Ohara area has been known as Gyozan
for more than a thousand years. It is thebirthplace of Shomyo (Buddhist sutrachanting) and known as a sacred spot in the
belief of Jodo (Pure Land Buddhism) among
Nembutsu-Hijiri (prayer mendicant priests).
Sanzen-in Temple was originally established
as a hermitage by Saicho (767-822), or
Dengyo Daishi, when he founded Enryakuji
Temple on Mt. Hiei, Shiga Prefecture. Thetemple, also known as Kajii Monzeki or
Nashimoto Monzeki, is one of the fiveTendai Monzeki temples, and certain
members of the imperial family served here
in the priesthood throughout the temple’s
history. It was officially named Sanzen-in in1871, according to documentation written byEmperor Reigen in the Jibutsu-do hall ofKajii Goten (the temple building), following
the departure of an imperial prince priest
from the priesthood.

Ojo-Gokuraku-in in winterReproduction of the painting on the ship’s-hull shaped ceiling of Ojo-Gokuraku-in Hall
(Inside Ennyu-zo)

Ojo-Gokuraku-in in spring

Konjiki Fudo-do Hall and Kannon-do Hall

Shuheki-en Garden and Yusei-en Garden

Ojo-Gokuraku-in Hall

Konjiki Fudo-do Hall, located in the hydrangea garden, is a place thatserves as a center for prayer. It was established in 1989 and houses theprincipal figure of Konjiki Fudo Myoo (created by Chisho Daishi).
Kannon-do Hall houses a standing 3-meter-tall golden figure of Kannon,and surrounding this hall, there are smaller images of Kannon, whichwere dedications from people as a symbol of their wishes. Next to thehall is the Jigen Garden, designed to replicate sacred ground.

Shuheki-en Garden is a “pond appreciating style” garden, which can be viewed
from the Kyakuden, and was renovated by Kanamori Sowa, a master of the tea
ceremony in the Edo Era. Yusei-en Garden is a “pond strolling style” garden,
leading to Ojo-Gokuraku-in Hall, which can be viewed from Shinden. The namederives from a line written by Xie Lingyun, a Chinese poet representing the Six
Dynasties. This garden is famous for its large moss garden and beautiful autumn
leaves surrounded by cedar trees.

According to temple legend, this hall was built by a priest, Eshin Sozu
(Genshin) in 986, along with his sister Anyo-ni, as a memorial to the soulsof their dead parents. Eshin Sozu, famed as the author of a treatise,
Ojo-yoshu, is credited with perfecting the Tendai-Jodo sect. The shape ofthe ceiling of this hall was designed like the hull of a ship in order toaccommodate the Amitabha Trinity (a National Treasure), which was taller
than the hall itself. Although it is difficult to see with the naked eye atpresent, the ceiling is decorated with full-colored depictions of bodhisattvas
and celestial maidens flying in the heavens. In the autumn of 2006,
Ennyu-zo, a storage facility for the temple’s Important Cultural Properties,
was opened to the public, with a reproduction of the painting on the ceiling,exhibiting the recreated image of Gokurakujodo, the land of Perfect Bliss.
This hall also houses an image of Amitabha seated offering Raigo-in(welcoming hand gesture) in the center, with Kanzeon Bosatsu (right)
offering a pose representing the laying out of a deceased person on a lotus
pedestal, and Seishi Bosatsu (left) with hands clasped together. BothBosatsu are seated in the stooping “Yamato” pose.

Ennyu-zo

Shinden Hall and Kyakuden Hall

Ennyu-zo, opened in the autumn of 2006, is a storage facility for thetemple’s Important Cultural Properties, and is equipped with anexhibition room. The ceiling of this building has a reproduction of thepainting, found on the ship’s-hull shaped ceiling of Ojo-Gokuraku-inHall. This facility was opened to the public in order to exhibit the culturalproperties stored here, and hosts a special exhibition every year in thespring.

Shinden is a place that serves as a center for Osenboko (a service with Shomyo),
and was started by the Emperor Goshirakawa. The principal image of worship in
this hall is the Yakushi Ruriko Nyorai (the Nyorai of Emerald Radiance),
created by Dengyo Daishi. In the west room, images of successive imperial
priests are kept, and in the Gyokuza Room on the east side, also called theRainbow Room, sliding doors bear a painting of a rainbow by Shimomura
Kanzan.
Kyakuden was called Ryuzen-in during the Heian Era, and served as theadministration office for Taigen-ji (a collective name for this area with a few
temples). Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a feudal lord in the 16th century, renovated thisbuilding with leftover materials from a renovation of an imperial palace.

Kannon-do

Konjiki Fudo-do

Shuheki-en Garden

Hydrangea

Kerria