Mitera Sennyu-ji Temple

Sennyu-ji Temple—officially known as Mitera Sennyu-ji—is the head temple of the Sennyu-ji branch of Shingon Buddhism, located in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. Its mountain name is Higashiyama (also read as Sen-zan). Nestled at the foot of Mount Tsukinowa, one of the Higashiyama Thirty-Six Peaks, Sennyu-ji has served since the Kamakura period as the resting place of successive emperors and imperial family members, and is revered as the imperial family’s memorial temple, hence the honorific “Mitera” (Imperial Temple). Access is about a 15-minute walk from Tofuku-ji Station on the JR Nara Line and the Keihan Railway. The Buddha Hall was rebuilt in 1668 (Kanbun 8) with support from the Edo shogunate’s 4th shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna. It enshrines three principal Buddhas—Shaka Nyorai, Amida Nyorai, and Miroku Nyorai—representing the past, present, and future, traditionally attributed to Unkei. The Shariden Hall is believed to be a relocated and remodeled structure from the Kyoto Imperial Palace dating to the Keicho era, and its ceiling bears the famous “Cloud Dragon” painting by Kano Sansetsu, also called the “Crying Dragon” (Naki-ryu). The seated Kannon statue in the Yokihi Kannon-do, said to have been modeled on the appearance of Yang Guifei, is a work from the Southern Song period and is known for blessings related to beauty and matchmaking. Autumn leaves at sites such as the “Sennyu-ji Mizuya-gata” and the “Gozasho Garden” are also among its highlights.