After my morning visit to the mountain temples of O'hara in Kyoto, I returned to the city and had time to see two sights, the so called "Mother Temple" and the Nijo Castle. Higashi Honganji is the mother temple of a branch of Pure Land Buddhism which started when the youngest daughter of the founder Shinran (1173-1262) built a mausoleum to enshrine her father's portrait in 1272.
The land of this temple was donated in 1602. The present temple was rebuilt in 1895 and it is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. The width is 76m, depth 58m, height 38m. It has 175,000 roof tiles, 90 wooden pillars and accomodates 927 tatami floor mats.
The entrance gate, as seen from the porch.
On the central altar there is a figure of the founder, Shinran Shonin. I bowed in in respect during my visit.
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