Zenjoji Temple

Established in 991 on the grounds of a Fujiwara clan summer villa in the tea-growing hills of Ujitawara, between Kyoto and Nara. Emperor Shōmu visited the site in 748 before its formal founding, and several wooden Buddhist statues created at the temple's establishment are now designated Important Cultural Properties. The main hall, built in the 17th century with a large thatched roof, survives from the period when Zen master Gesshu transformed the temple into a Soto Zen practice center. The grounds hold a collection of Heian-period statues including a Standing Eleven-Headed Kannon and the Four Heavenly Kings, all housed in the temple repository.