Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Peaceful Dragon) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. Belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism, the temple is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto. The site of the temple was originally a Fujiwara family estate. It [...]

Yasaka Shrine is commonly known as “Gion-san,” and its festival, “Gion-Matsuri,” is well-known and popular throughout Japan.1. Sairo-monFirst, your eyes will be caught by a big, splendid, vermilion, lacquered gate.  It’s called “Sairo-mon” in Japanese; also some people call it “Goryu-mon.”  During the War of Onin (1467-77), the first gate was burned down.  This gate, [...]

Emperor Kammu was born in 737 as the crown prince of Emperor Konin and ascended to the throne in 781 as the 50th Emperor of Japan. Realizing that the capital of Heijo was small in scale and beneath the dignity of our country, Emperor Kammu transfered the capital to Nagaoka in the province of Yamashiro [...]

  Officially known simply as Jingū or “The Shrine”, Ise Jingū is in fact a shrine complex composed of a large number of Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, Naikū (内宮) and Gekū(外宮).”The Inner Shrine, Naikū (also officially known as “Kotaijingu”), is located in the town of Uji-tachi, south of central Ise City, and [...]