Daikakuji Temple

Daikaku-ji Temple is the head temple of the Daikakuji School of Shingon Buddhism, located in Sagano, Kyoto. With an elegant atmosphere reminiscent of an imperial palace, it was originally the villa of Emperor Saga and was later converted into a temple by one of his imperial daughters. In 1268 (Bun’ei 5), the retired Emperor Gosaga entered the temple after becoming a monk, and later the Cloistered Emperor Kameyama and then the retired Emperor Gouda also stayed here and governed from this place, which led it to be called Sagano Imperial Palace as well. Thereafter, imperial princes from the imperial lineage served as abbots, and the lineage associated with the temple became known as the Daikakuji Line in contrast to the Jimyoin Line of Emperor Go-Fukakusa’s descendants. As a temple closely connected to the Imperial family, Daikaku-ji contains many court-style buildings and relocated structures with imperial ties. The Shinden Hall, bestowed by Emperor Gomizunoo, consists of four rooms—the Peony, Red Plum, Willow Pine, and Crane rooms—and the peony and red plum paintings are especially luxurious works by Kano Sanraku. The temple is also known as a birthplace of ikebana and serves as the head of the Saga Goryu school. It is about a 20-minute walk from JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, and a visit typically requires about 60 minutes for the temple hall area alone, or around 90 minutes including the Osawa Pond area.