Shūon-an Ikkyū-ji

Adults ¥600: the ¥500 going around is the rate for groups of thirty people.

You enter along an avenue between the maples and reach the dry landscape gardens (raked gravel and stones, without water), recognised as a Place of Scenic Beauty; the treasure house holds the portraits and calligraphy of Ikkyū, the monk who spent his last years here and is buried here. The temple itself states that the grounds have steps and uneven surfaces.

The temple was founded in the Kamakura period under the name Myōshō-ji. In the fourteen-fifties the monk Ikkyū refounded it and named it Shūon-an, ‘hermitage for repaying a debt’, in reference to his own master; he spent his last years here and is buried here. The dry landscape gardens of the complex are designated a Place of Scenic Beauty.

ℹ️ Adults ¥600 (the ¥500 you read about elsewhere is the rate for groups of thirty people, stated on the same official page). Open 9:00–17:00; the treasure house, where the portraits and calligraphy are kept, opens at 9:30 and closes at 16:30. ⚠️ The temple states that there are steps and uneven surfaces within its grounds, and it does not admit animals. ⚠️ The Kokyū-an hermitage can only be visited with advance booking: it is the only part of the complex not included in the ticket.

🚉 Kyōtanabe · 13 min walk

Sources: ikkyuji.org

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