The novelist Junichiro Tanizaki, who spent a lifetime writing about shadows, light, and the vanishing aesthetics of old Japan, chose this place for his final rest. He planted a weeping cherry tree over what would become his grave, and each spring its blossoms scatter across the mossy ground of Honen-in like punctuation marks at the end of a very long sentence. The temple sits just off the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto's eastern hills, half-hidden by forest and almost easy to miss. That is part of its appeal. While the famous temples of Kyoto draw enormous crowds, Honen-in draws a different kind of visitor -- the kind who walks slowly, reads the inscriptions on gravestones, and understands that a thatched-roof gate covered in moss can be more moving than any golden pavilion.
The approach to Honen-in begins with a narrow path through the forest that opens onto the temple's signature image: a thatched-roof gate in the sukiya style, its timbers darkened with age and draped in green moss. Beyond the gate, two long mounds of raked white sand flank the walkway. These are the byakusadan, purification platforms whose patterns change with the seasons -- sometimes raked into waves, sometimes into leaf patterns or geometric designs. Walking between them is a ritual act. The sand symbolizes water, and passing through purifies the visitor before entering the sacred precinct. It is a remarkably quiet experience, even during Kyoto's busiest tourist seasons, because Honen-in remains just far enough from the main path to filter out the noise.
The temple traces its origins to the Kamakura period, when the monk Honen and his disciples built a hermitage in these hills to practice the Six-Session Worship and Praise, a devotional routine of chanting the nembutsu six times daily. Honen was the founder of Jodo-shu, the Pure Land sect of Japanese Buddhism, and this quiet spot on the eastern hillside became associated with his memory long after his death. The temple as it stands today dates to 1680, when Manmin, the 38th head of Chion-in, proposed rebuilding a nembutsu practice hall on this site linked to Honen. Together with his student Oshin Keikaku, Manmin restored the hermitage into a functioning temple. The main hall, built in 1681 as a guest hall, enshrines a seated statue of Amida Nyorai alongside a standing figure of Honen himself.
Among Honen-in's treasures is its Hojo, the abbot's quarters, which was originally built in 1595 as part of the imperial palace of Emperor Go-Yozei and relocated here in 1687. The sliding door paintings by Kano Mitsunobu inside are designated Important Cultural Properties of Japan -- gold-leafed scenes of paulownia and bamboo, pine trees in vivid color, and delicate designs of maki and aronia. In 1971, the Nihonga painter Insho Domoto received a commission to redecorate two rooms, replacing the traditional Kano school works with an abstract interpretation of the Pure Land. His painting, titled 'Soft Breeze Approaching,' depicts willows swaying in wind -- a vision of paradise rendered not in gold and meticulous detail but in broad, dreamlike strokes. The Hojo garden, a Pure Land garden design, features the famous Zenkisui spring whose water has long been celebrated for its clarity.
Honen-in's hillside cemetery reads like a syllabus for a course on modern Japanese intellectual life. Junichiro Tanizaki, author of 'The Makioka Sisters' and 'In Praise of Shadows,' rests here beneath his cherry tree. Nearby lies Hajime Kawakami, the Marxist economist and poet. The historian Konan Naito, who reshaped the study of East Asian history, is buried on the same slope. The philosopher Shuzo Kuki, who wrote 'The Structure of Iki' and studied under Heidegger in Europe, chose this temple for his grave. So did the archaeologist Kosaku Hamada and the painter Heihachiro Fukuda. These were people who understood the relationship between beauty and impermanence, and they chose a temple where moss grows over everything, where the camellias bloom brilliantly in spring and drop their flowers whole, landing intact on the green carpet below.
The temple grounds are free and open daily from 6:00 to 16:00, but the main hall and interior buildings remain closed to the public for most of the year. Twice annually -- during the spring open house from April 1 to 7, and the autumn open house from November 1 to 7 -- the doors swing open, and visitors can see the Kano school paintings, the Domoto murals, and the camellia garden in full glory. Student guides from local university antiquities clubs lead tours during these periods. The auditorium, originally a large bathhouse built in 1694 and renovated in 1977, now serves as a rental gallery hosting photography exhibitions, painting shows, and small concerts -- a continuation of the temple's long tradition of welcoming artists and intellectuals through its moss-covered gate.
Located at 35.024°N, 135.797°E in the Higashiyama foothills of eastern Kyoto. The temple is nestled in dense tree cover along the hillside and is not individually visible from altitude, but the Philosopher's Path corridor and the adjacent forested hills of Higashiyama form a distinctive green band along Kyoto's eastern edge. Best oriented from 3,000-5,000 feet AGL looking east toward the mountain backdrop. Osaka Itami Airport (RJOO) lies approximately 22 nautical miles southwest. Kansai International Airport (RJBB) is approximately 50 nautical miles to the south.