Hosen-in Temple

Hosen-in Temple is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, with the mountain name Gyozan. It was founded around the Katei era (circa 1235) by Sokai Hoin as a sub-temple of Shorin-in at Ohara-dera Temple. Access to Hosen-in is about a 15-minute walk from the "Ohara" bus stop, using Kyoto City Bus routes 17 or 18 from JR Kyoto Station. One of Hosen-in’s highlights is the "Blood Ceiling." The corridor ceiling boards in the study were made from floorboards of Fushimi Castle, where several hundred loyal Tokugawa retainers led by Torii Mototada fought bravely against a vastly larger Western Army force in the Battle of Fushimi Castle, a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara, and then took their own lives. Another highlight is the garden known as the "Framed Garden." West of the guest hall, the Ban’kan-en garden is viewed by using the space between pillars as a picture frame; true to its meaning of "so captivating you cannot leave," it is a view you can stand and admire without growing tired of it. A 700-year-old five-needle pine shaped to resemble Omi Fuji (Mount Mikami) is designated a natural monument of Kyoto City; it stands 11 meters tall, with a branch spread of 11.5 meters north–south and 14 meters east–west. The haiku poet Takahama Kyoshi wrote: "Ohara ya / muju no tera no / goyo no matsu" (Ohara—at the uninhabited temple, the five-needle pine).