To-ji

To-ji was founded in 796 as one of two temples guarding the gates of the new capital, and in 823 it was given to Kukai, who made it the headquarters of Shingon esoteric Buddhism. The pagoda is the landmark: 54.8 metres, the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan, rebuilt in 1644 after several fires and visible from the shinkansen as it comes into Kyoto. The Kodo, the lecture hall, is the substance of the visit - twenty-one sculptures from the ninth century onward arranged in a fixed spatial pattern that renders a mandala in three dimensions, with Dainichi at the centre; it is the earliest such arrangement in Japan and remains as Kukai set it. On the twenty-first of each month the grounds host Kobo-san, a large flea market of antiques, ceramics, tools and food that has run for centuries.

History

Tō-ji was founded in 796, two years after the capital moved to Heian-kyō, as one of only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city, standing with its partner Sai-ji beside the Rashōmon gate; it is the only one of the three to survive. In 823 Emperor Saga put the monk Kūkai, Kōbō Daishi, in charge of it; the temple declined at the end of the Heian period and revived with the worship of Kōbō Daishi in the Kamakura period, and in 1994 it became part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Tō-ji).

What to look for

• A 54.8-metre pagoda - the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan, rebuilt in 1644.
• A three-dimensional mandala - twenty-one sculptures arranged in the Kodo as Kukai set them.
• Kukai's headquarters - the centre of Shingon esoteric Buddhism since 823.
• Kobo-san - a large flea market in the grounds on the twenty-first of every month.

When to go

The twenty-first for the market; spring evenings for the lit cherry. Two hours.

Things to know

The pagoda interior opens only on special occasions. Entry charges apply to the halls, not the outer grounds. The Kodo is dim and photography is restricted. Market days are crowded and the temple atmosphere is different then.

Nearby

Kyoto station is north-east; Fushimi Inari is south-east.

Key facts