Enryaku-ji

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

photo by KimonBerlin · CC BY-SA 2.0

Founded in 788 by Saichō: seat of the Tendai school, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Konpon Chūdō, the main hall of the Tōdō area, keeps a small flame that tradition says has burned without interruption since 788, when the monk Saichō (Dengyō Daishi) settled on Mount Hiei and founded the Tendai school of Buddhism. From there it is about one kilometre on foot to the Saitō, where the Shaka-dō stands, and another four to the Yokawa. In 1994 the whole complex was added to the UNESCO list as part of the ‘Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto’, even though the mountain and most of the buildings are in the territory of Ōtsu, in Shiga, not Kyoto.

Seat of the Tendai school of Buddhism, founded on Mount Hiei in 788 by the monk Saichō. A historically enormous monastic complex, it was the training centre for many reformers of medieval Japanese Buddhism (including, according to tradition, the founders of the Jōdo, Zen and Nichiren schools).

ℹ️ The complex is reached by funicular from Sakamoto (坂本ケーブル) or from the Kyoto side. Opening hours and tickets vary by area and season: not checked precisely, to be confirmed on the official site (hieizan.or.jp) before visiting.

🚉 Hōraioka · 11 min walk

Sources: hieizan.or.jp · ja.wikipedia.org

All series · Open the map