Gokurakuji Temple

Gokurakuji Temple preserves Buddhist statues that survived the Meiji government's forced separation of Shinto and Buddhism in 1868, when Usa Jingu became a purely Shinto institution. The principal object of worship is a Kamakura-period Amida Buddha statue, 1.2 meters tall with a radiant halo, originally enshrined in Usa Jingu's demolished Dainido Hall. The temple's Mirokudo Hall houses a large seated statue of Miroku from the Muromachi period, retaining traces of original gold and a vivid blue hair color. The small museum inside the main hall holds a hair-embroidered mandala and other historical treasures.