Jan 29, 2014 - 1 min read

Nishihongan-ji Temple, Kyoto

Visiting on the first day of the new year

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

At the temple's Main Gate

The grounds are quite spacious

Wide wooden corridor connecting the various buildings

People coming to worhsip

Visitors to the Prayer Hall

Inside the Prayer Hall

A monk finishing his prayers

Worshippers on the first day of the year

Beautiful wall design

Rich in its ornamentation

Nishi Hongan-ji, (meaning the Western Temple of the Original Vow) is of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism, and is, in a sense, a sister temple to Higashi Hongan-ji, just down the road. At one point they were one temple, but were split apart by Tokukawa Ieyasu in 1602 as a way to diminish their power. Even today, these are large temples. I visited on the morning of January 1st, the first day of the year, expecting a large crowd of worshippers, but it was relatively quiet. The grounds and buildings are spacious and large.

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Larry Knipfing

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

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