Rokuharamitsu-ji Temple

Highlight

Principle image is a Buddhist statue rarely shown to the public, and it only can be seen once every 12 years, in the year of the dragon, for a limited set period

See close up the works of the stars of Heian and Kamakura sculpture

This temple was first founded by Kuya Jonin in 951 as the 17th temple of the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage. Back in those days, Kyoto was in the midst of a plague, and Kuya had carved an 11-faced Kannon that he pulled around the city on a decorated float to rid the city of the plague. While doing this, he served the sick with a special tea he concocted from pickled ume plums and tied-up seaweed that were boiled over burning bamboo splayed to look like the lotus blossom. This special tea supposedly cured people of the plague.
The treasure hall houses a standing statue of Kuya Jonin (Important Cultural Property), a statue of Kiyomori Taira as a monk (Important Cultural Property), and two statues of Jizo Bosatsu, one from the Heian period the other the Kamakura period (both are Important Cultural Properties), statues of Yakushi Nyorai and Shitenno (the Four Heavenly Kings).