Honganji Temple

This old temple is said to have been founded in 730 by the monk Gyoki. The main hall dates from the Kamakura period — shingled roof, irimoya gables, shitomi lattice shutters in the shinden manner — and its composed, settled character has survived intact enough for it to be designated an Important Cultural Property. Among its treasures are a pilgrim figure of Gyoki said to be his own work, an Amida attributed to Genshin, and an image of the Chinese master Shandao brought over from Tang China. By the pond beside the main hall stands the Myogo Stone, said to bear Honen's own hand: six characters of the Buddha's name carved into a natural rock. Ivy once covered it and kept the rain off, which earned it a second name — the rain-shielding myogo.