Chogosonshiji

Perched on Mt. Shigi between Nara and Osaka, Chogosonshiji is a sprawling temple complex with a fierce guardian, an enormous papier-mache tiger at the entrance that has become its unofficial symbol. Tigers appear everywhere here, from statues to talismans, connected to the legend of Prince Shotoku receiving a divine vision of Bishamonten (the god of war) during the hour, day, and year of the tiger in 587 CE. The hillside setting offers views across the Yamato Plain, and the various halls and sub-temples are connected by covered walkways winding through the forested mountainside.