Shinyo-dō (真如堂)

Shinyo-dō (真如堂)Shinyo-dō (真如堂)Shinyo-dō (真如堂)Shinyo-dō (真如堂)Shinyo-dō (真如堂)Shinyo-dō (真如堂)Shinyo-dō (真如堂)Shinyo-dō (真如堂)

Shinyo-do was founded in 984 by priest Kaisan to enshrine a statue of the Buddha of Paradise. The temple became famous as a training centre where one can practice the "Fudan Nenbutsu", a prayer to Buddha that lasts all day without any pause. This tradition evolved into the "O-juja", a 10-day chanting prayer that is still performed every year. Like many temples in Kyoto, Shinyo-do was destroyed during the Onin war (1467~1477) but was subsequently rebuilt. The temple's main icon had been hidden away from Kyoto during the war and returned to the temple in 1693. Many famous people and families are buried in the temple, among others haiku poet Mukai Kyorai (one of the 10 disciples of Basho, see the Rakushisha hermitage), the Mitsui family (rich merchants of the pre-WWII area) and none others than several members of the Fujiwara family.

To visit the temple one must enter the main hall (hondo - 本堂) and pay a fee at the booth in the left corner. The hondo has a very large (second largest) tapestry representing the Nirvana (4x6m). Leaving the main hall, a covered path leads to other temple buildings where one can see two gardens, both quite recent, a rare fact for such an old temple.

The first is the Nehan ("Nirvana") garden and was built in the classic karesansui rock garden style, in 1988. It uses the "landscape borrowing" technique to include Mt. Hiei in its design. The second garden is even more recent, and possibly the most recently major garden in Kyoto: it was constructed in 2010 by gardener Shigemori Chisao and named "随縁の庭" (which I can't translate or pronounce yet). Its geometrical pattern reminds of the design of Tofuku-ji gardens which were indeed created by the father of Chisao.

Shinyo-do's gardens are not well known yet, especially the newest one. The temple grounds, however, are a popular spot to see the autumn colours so it can be very crowded during the peak season. Near Shinyo-do, on the same hill, is Konkaikomyo-ji (金戒光明寺), another large temple of the Kurodani area.

Recommended for: Access: 1000 円

Nearby: Saiun-in 西雲院 (190m), Konkaikōmyō-ji 金戒光明寺 (220m), Eishō-in 栄摂院 (230m), Ryuko-in 龍光院 (250m), Takenaka Inari Jinja 竹中稲荷神社 (360m), Okazaki-betsuin 岡崎別院 (480m), Sakuradanicho 47 桜谷町47 (480m), Okazaki-jinja 岡崎神社 (500m), Yōji-ya よーじや銀閣寺店 (500m), Yoshida-jinja 吉田神社 (530m),...

External links: Website, ウィキペディア, Wikipedia, Wikipédia, Kyoto Navi, Trip Advisor, Kyoto Design, 京都風光, Marutake, そうだ京都, Satellite view, Map

Keywords: Japan, 日本, Japon, Kyoto, 京都, 南左京, Sakyo-ku, Shinyo-do, temple, 真如堂, 寺院, 仏閣

Statistics: visited on 18 occasions, id 375, 43 photos (69 extra photos can be found in the archive).

Photos of Shinyo-dō:

Ema votive offerings and tied umikuji fortunes in Shinyo-do temple
Modern zen garden in temple courtyard, Shinyo-do
A modern courtyard zen garden, Shinyo-do temple
Shinyo-do temple gardens
Lantern hiding behind bright red autumn foliage in Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Temple roof lines and ornaments with fiery autumn foliage, Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Large lantern and pure red autumn colours, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Carpet of red fallen maple leaves in Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Maple trees and fallen autumn leaves on the grounds of Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Roof tile detail with autumn colours, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Stone lantern among pin cherry blossoms, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Temple roof details and bright red maple tree in Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Maple grove in autumn in Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Red maple and yellow ginkgo fallen leaves on pavement, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Stone bridge leading to small shrine in early autumn, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Bellflower shaped window framed by a branch of red maple tree, Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Two young ladies taking pictures of fiery autumn colors in Shinyo-dō temple, Kyoto, Japan
Old couple walking past sakura in full bloom in Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Stone lantern lost in cherry blossoms, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Stone torii gate and cherry blossoms at the entrance of Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Red maple filling the frame around the pagoda of Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Temple roof in winter, Shinyodo, Kyoto, Japan
Pagoda lost in red autumn foliage, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Shinyo-do temple pagoda in winter, Kyoto, Japan
Snow-covered pagoda in Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Shinyodo temple pagoda on an early and snowy winter morning, Kyoto, Japan
Miniature shrine in snow-covered vegetation, Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Temple wall and gate with autumn foliage, Shinyodo, Kyoto, Japan
Pagoda hiding behind red autumn foliage, Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Dark pagoda and bright red autumn foliage, Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Dry landscape garden in autumn, Shinyodo temple, Kyoto, Japan
Traditional architecture with view on autumn colours at the formal entrance of Shinyo-do temple, Kyoto, Japan
Shinyodo temple pagoda hiding behind bright yellow ginkgo tree and red maple foliage, Kyoto, Japan