Daruma-dera (達磨寺), also called Horin-ji (法輪寺), is a temple located in a non-touristic area of Kyoto, and which therefore sees little crowd compared to the big names of Higashiyama. Daruma-dera does hove, however, on particularity that makes it interesting: it is the daruma temple, and has quite a few statues, paintings and other dharma-related artefacts (lanterns, etc) This temple even has its own style of sharma statues.

Daruma-dera has three interesting spots. The first one is a separated hall which contains a collection of daruma statues of all shapes, forms and colors (though the most popular color is red, of course). The ceiling of the building features a large painting of a... dharma. If you can read Japanese a bit you will notice a number in the lower right corner: 40500. This is in fact the 40500th painting from a painter who dedicated pretty much all his life to paint dharma. The painted was 83 years old when he painted that daruma. Other paintings by him can be found elsewhere in the temple; there is for instance another large ceiling painting by the same artist in the main hall.

If you ask the lady at the entrance booth, she can guide you through the temple and its dharma collections. You can also visit the second floor which has a view of the temple surroundings. It's not that common to have access to a higher level in temples, so enjoy ;) At last, the third feature is a zen garden of moss and rocks laid in front of the main hall. The garden is not the best one in Kyoto, but it is brought to life by the voices of the kids playing in the nearby school. On the left of the hall you will find a small rock basin (つくばい), and behind it a few windows that are daruma-shaped.

Keywords: 達磨寺, daruma-dera, Hourin-ji, 法輪寺, horinji, hourinji, horin-ji, temple, お寺, 卍, 寺院, 洛陽大宝山法輪寺

Nearby: Ryuhon-ji 立本寺 (750m), Torin-in 東林院 (1km), Keishun-in 桂春院 (1.1km), Daishin-in 大心院 (1.1km)

id: 429, 19 photos (1 extra photos can be found in the archive).