Daishoji Temple

Rinzai Zen convent founded in the late fourteenth century on the grounds of the former Flower Palace, residence of the Ashikaga shoguns. Located just north of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, the convent became a residence for imperial princesses who chose Buddhist life, and women from the court continued to live here through the nineteenth century. The temple survives the fall of the shogunate and remains an active convent today, closed to the general public except during rare special exhibitions. These events, most recently held in 2020, display the temple's collection of dolls that once belonged to young princesses who entered the convent.