Entoku-in

Entoku-in Temple is a sub-temple of Kodai-ji in the Kennin-ji branch of Rinzai Zen, located in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. It was founded in 1605 (Keicho 10) by the monk Sanko Shoeki. It is especially known as the late-life residence of Nene (also known as Kita-no-Mandokoro and Kodai-in), the principal wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Access is about an 18-minute walk from Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan Line, about a 20-minute walk from Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line, or about a 7-minute walk from the “Higashiyama Yasui” bus stop using Kyoto City Bus route 206 from JR Kyoto Station. One highlight is the “North Garden,” arranged by Kobori Enshu and relocated from the former front garden of Nene’s Fushimi Castle dressing hall, originally designed by Ken’tei. The garden is unique for its many massive rocks and is designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty. The “South Garden” features beautifully raked white sand and is designed so that visitors can enjoy flowers and autumn leaves throughout the year. Entoku-in is also famous for possessing the rare sliding-door paintings “Landscape Fusuma Paintings” by Hasegawa Tohaku (the originals are deposited with institutions such as the Kyoto National Museum). Another notable object is the “Sanmen Daikokuten,” Hideyoshi’s talisman for success in life: an extremely rare combined image uniting Daikokuten, Bishamonten, and Benzaiten into one figure.