Seiryoji Temple

JAPAN, Kyoto

Commonly known as Shakado, Seiryoji Temple is located on Mount Atago and belongs to the Pure Land school of Japanese Buddhism. A palace belonging to Emperor Saga (reigned 809–823) was originally located here. The palace was given to his son Kawara no Sadaijin and was later converted to a temple named Seikaji. In 983 during the Heian period, a monk from Todaiji Temple named Chonen went to China and commissioned a copy of the legendary Udayana Buddha image, the original of which was believed to have been carved in sandalwood on the basis of the actual physical appearance of Sakyamuni Buddha. Chonen brought the image back to Japan in 986 and rebuilt Seikaji Temple. His disciple later renamed the temple to Seiryoji and enshrined the Udayana Buddha image in the Sakyamuni Hall.
The structures that remain today include the Sakyamuni Hall, Amitabha Hall, large abbot’s quarters, temple gate, sutra repository, Prabhutaratna Pagoda, and Prince Shotoku Shrine. The seven-by-seven bay Sakyamuni Hall, which is the main hall, was rebuilt in 1701 during the Edo period. It has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered in cylindrical tiles. The statue of the Udayana Buddha is enshrined on a Sumeru throne within the hall.
The temple houses a number of National Treasures, including the Amitabha Buddha Triad sculpted in the early Heian period (794–1185) and the illustration of the Sixteen Arhats from the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) of China. There are also several Important Cultural Properties, such as the paintings Origins of the Seiryoji Temple and Origins of the Yuzu Nembutsu School, as well as a wood print of Maitreya Bodhisattva, an illustration of Vulture Peak, portraits of Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, and a bronze image of Water-Moon Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.