Houkyouin

Hokyoin（宝筐院） was originally named “Zen-nyuji Temple” by Emperor Shirakawa.Zennyuji Temple is said to have prospered greatly under the auspices of Ashikaga Yoshiakira, the second shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate.

When Ashikaga Yoshiakira died in 1367, the name of the temple was changed from Zeniri-ji to Hoho-in, the name of Yoshinobu’s temple.The temple was finally abandoned at the end of the Edo period. In 1917, the temple was rebuilt with a standing wooden statue of the eleven-faced thousand-armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva as its principal image.

On January 5, 1348, Zen monk Mokuan brought the head of Kusunoki Masatsura of the Southern Dynasty, who was defeated in the battle of Shijonawate, back to Zeniri-ji Temple for memorial service.

To get to Houkyouin from Kyoto Station, take a 16-minute JR train ride and a 10-minute walk from Saga-Arashiyama Station.