Also known as the Bamboo Temple (竹の寺) due to its location in a bamboo forest, Jizo-in is a bit out of the beaten path of the more northern Arashimaya district. The temple was built in 1367 by the then ruling family Hosakawa. The temple flourished for five Emperor generations before the Onin war destroyed most of the buildings, like so many other temples in Kyoto.
Nowadays the temple has few visitors, and the last time I went there the temple wasn't open until 20 minutes after its official opening time of 9AM. Very rare in Japan... Nevertheless, the temple has a simple but nice and quiet garden, and the bamboo forest can be beautiful if the light is right. The abbot's quarters, which is the building from which you can see the garden, also has interesting sliding doors with almost humoristic scenes drawn on them.
The temple name "Jizo" (地蔵) refers to the small stone statues, often with a red cloth or hat, that can be found along roads as well as in most temples in Japan. There's a few legends and stories about them; you can check wikipedia for more information. Recommended for: Access: Nearby: Kaguyahime Takegoten かぐや姫御殿 (190m), Jōjū-ji 浄住寺 (210m), Saihō-ji / Koke-dera 西芳寺・苔寺 (250m), Suzumushi-dera 鈴虫寺 (330m), Matsunō-taisha 松尾大社 (1km) External links: ウィキペディア, 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, Nishikyo, 地蔵院, temple, 竹寺, Take-dera, Jizo-in, 寺院, 仏閣 Statistics: visited on 4 occasions, id 337, 9 photos (11 extra photos can be found in the archive). |
