In Ōhara, other than Sanzen-in, Jakkō-in (寂光院) is another characteristic attraction. The temple on the village’s west side has many maple trees planted in its precinct. During the fresh green and fall foliage season, the scenery in the temple attracts many tourists who are more than happy to make an effort to enjoy the masterpieces painted by Mother Nature.
Apart from the astonishing natural scenery, Jakkō-in is also a historical landmark. Erected in 595 by Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子) to pray for his father, Emperor Yōmei (用明天皇), the temple later began to have a deep connection with the Taira Clan.
Table of Contents
- The History of Jakkō-in
- The Main Hall – Hondō (本堂)
- Treasure Hall Hōchishōden (鳳智松殿)
- Migiwa Pond (汀の池)
- Teahouse Koun (茶室 孤雲)
- Ōhara West Mausoleum (Ōhara Nishi no Misasagi, 大原西陵)
- Shiba-tsuke Pickles (しば漬)
- Our Visit to Jakkō-in
- Ōharame Festival (大原女まつり)
- Jakkō-in’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
The History of Jakkō-in
Since Jakkō’s erection, the chief priests have always been nuns from noble families. The first chief priest was the nanny of Prince Shōtoku, Tamateruhime (玉照姫). In 548, she quit her life as a noblewoman and became one of the first three nuns in Japanese Buddhism.
The second chief priest was the daughter of Fujiwara no Michinori (藤原信西), named Awanonaishi (阿波内侍). She originally served Taira no Tokuko (平德子).
Tokuko’s father was Taira no Kiyomori (平清盛), who established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Born in such a powerful family, Tokuko was married into the Imperial family when she was 16. After her husband, Emperor Takakura (高倉天皇) passed away, her name was changed to Kenreimon-in (建礼門院).
Unfortunately, drafted into the Genpei War (源平の合戦), she lost her nine-year-old son, Emperor Antoku (安徳天皇). During this civil war, the Taira Clan was annihilated, which means she lost her entire family. When the war ended in 1185, Tokuko was 29. Without any remaining relatives, she follow Awanonaishi and devoted herself to Buddhism to pray for the Taira Clan and her son. She thus became the third chief priest of Jakkō-in in 1185.
The Main Hall – Hondō (本堂)
After Kenrimon-in passed away, Jakkō-in gradually deteriorated. But in the 16th century, it was revived when Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s (豊臣秀吉) second wife, Yodo-dono (淀殿), ordered the rebuilding of the main worship hall. The temple also received support from Hideyoshi’s son, Hideyori (秀頼), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康).
Unfortunately, the main worship hall was burnt down in 2000 due to arson. The current Hondō Hall was restored in 2005 with the main image, Jizō Bodhisattva (地蔵菩薩), remade.
The building was reconstructed to look the same as the original. This includes important historical features such as pillars built in the Asuka period (538 – 710) and Heian period (794 – 1185) styles. The outer chamber (外陣) is built in the Azuchi Momoyama (1574 – 1600) style after Toyotomi Hideyori’s repair.
Treasure Hall Hōchishōden (鳳智松殿)
The original Jizō Bodhisattva that Prince Shōtoku made and enshrined has 60,000 smaller Jizō Bodhisattva stored in his large body. Because of the fire hazard, a large part of the statue was largely burnt. Fortunately, many items stored inside the large Jizō statue were intact.
If you are interested in the items that are saved from the arson, visit the temple’s treasure hall, Hōchishōden. Besides the sutra, 3,417 small Jizō Bodhisattva figures survived!
The small museum also has items related to Kenreimon-in and the Taira clan, Buddha statues, and paintings from centuries ago exhibited.
Migiwa Pond (汀の池)
On each side of the Hondō, there is a lake. The Migiwa Pond, located at the west, appeared in the epic account of The Tale of the Heike (平家物語).
One of the scenes in the tale, which describes Kenreimon-in encountering Emperor Go-Shirakawa (後白河天皇), took place at the side of the pond, under the cherry blossom tree named Migiwa (汀の桜). Quite a few Japanese poems have been written to describe the gorgeous view of the pond decorated by the cherry tree.
As we visited the temple in autumn, there were no flowers or leaves on the tree. But you can refer to the second photo in the Instagram post for how it looks.
Behind the cherry tree is a pine tree called Thousand Years Old Princess Komatsu (Senen Hime Komatsu, 千年姫小松). The pine tree used to be a gigantic tree with a height of 15 meters. However, you will only see the lower part when you get there because it was cut back…
While it wasn’t clear in the photo, the dark brown thing surrounded by bright maple leaves is the burnt pine tree.
When Jakkō-in suffered from arson in 2000, the pine was severely damaged. As it was at risk of falling, a decision was made to prune the 1,000-year-old tree. The pine is now treated as a sacred tree that receives respect from pilgrims.
Remember also to check out the iron Yukimi Lantern (雪見燈籠) placed close to the pond at the east of the main hall. It was originally from the Fushimi Castle (伏見城) and was donated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The lantern is decorated with paulownia flowers fretwork, the family crest of the Toyotomi Clan. You can refer to the last photo in the Instagram Post.
Teahouse Koun (茶室 孤雲)
Before you pass through the second gate of Jakkō-in to get to the main hall, there is a smaller gate covered by moss. The small path from this gate will lead you to a teahouse called Koun and a water garden. The name of the teahouse is written on the small plaque underneath the roof. When we got there, the moss almost covered the tiny plaque.
Apparently, this teahouse was made from the building materials used in the enthronement of the Shōwa Emperor. In 1931, a large tea ceremony was held by the 15th Grand Master of the Urasenke tea school, Sen Sōshitsu (千宗室).
In late spring and early summer, you might be able to spot some Moria frog eggs around the pond in front of the teahouse!
Ōhara West Mausoleum (Ōhara Nishi no Misasagi, 大原西陵)
On the hillside at the back of Jakkō-in is where Kenreimonin’s grave is located. In contrast to the Mausoleum of Emperors Gotoba and Juntoku on the village’s east side, her mausoleum is called the West Mausoleum.
Coming from the bus stop, Ohara, you will first reach the stairs leading to the mausoleum. Although climbing the stairs can be tiring, the scenery is quite stunning during the fall foliage season.
Shiba-tsuke Pickles (しば漬)
One of Kyoto’s most famous pickle styles is Shiba-tsuke, which originated in Jakkō-in. This style pickles vegetables in salt and locally harvested red perilla leaves.
It is said that the second chief priest, Awanonaiji, created the style. At the time, she received vegetables and perilla leaves from the locals. Utilizing the ingredients, she invented the pickling style to preserve the food.
Nowadays, Jakkō-in holds a pickle ritual (漬け法要) in September. If you participate, you might receive some Shiba-tsuke pickles!
If the ritual isn’t on when you visit the temple, that is okay. There is a pickle shop opposite Jakkō-in’s reception. There are a couple of flavors that don’t contain bonito extracts, including the Shiga-tsuke in the photo.
Our Visit to Jakkō-in
Coming from the bus stop, Ohara, we first hiked up to Ōhara West Mausoleum to pay respect to Kenreimon-in. The promenade to the mausoleum is just against the temple’s wall. Because you need to climb up the staircases again to get to Jakkō-in’s main hall, it would be great if there were a passageway connecting the mausoleum with the temple’s precinct.
In addition to the normal admission fee, we also paid for the special event held at the Shoin Hall (書院), which isn’t normally open to the public. The cost of 1,000 yen wasn’t cheap, but we thought we’d check it out anyway.
Beyond the reception, stairs continued to Jakkō-in’s Sanmon Gate (refer to the last two photos in the IG post). Close to the Sanmon Gate is the entrance to the Teahouse Koun.
As we were in a rush to explore Jakkō-in, we forgot to check out the gorgeous garden. But we overlooked the teahouse from the Shoin Hall when we had our matcha and traditional sweets.
Following others, we left our shoes at the covered hallway’s entrance and met the remade Jizō Bodhisattva statue that was more than 2 meters tall in the Hondō.
The covered hallway was also where we adored the small water garden on the Hondō’s right.
Important: Photography is not allowed at Hondō.
The Special Opening Events at Jakkō-in
We also saw the original Jizō Bodhisattva statue in the temple’s traditional storage. Apparently, it was the last day of the special event. Beyond the storage’s gate, a small observation area was created, allowing visitors to see what was stored inside.
It was amazing to see the small Jizō Bodhisattva statues placed in containers. While many of them were partially damaged, at least they were saved. The large Jizō Bodhisattva statue was placed further inside the building. It was sad to see the cultural properly being greatly burnt. But at the same time, we felt thankful it was still standing.
On the way to the storage, Kenreimon-in’s residence used to stand at the vacated area covered by a lawn (refer to the last photo in the left IG post).
Our last stop of our visit was the Shoin Hall. The staff led us to the innermost room that overlooks the Teahouse Koun. Besides the scenery from the veranda, the paintings on the sliding doors are also worth checking out. The imperial family’s chrysanthemum crest and the Toyotomi clan’s paulownia crest were also parts of the room’s decoration (refer to the last photo in the right IG post).
Probably because not many people would want to pay the 1,000 yen, there was only another person in the Shoin Hall when we got there (´▽｀*). This means we had the entire Shoin to ourselves, and we absolutely enjoyed the privilege!
Ōharame Festival (大原女まつり)
When you stroll around Ōhara, the village mascot, Ōharame (大原女), can be seen almost everywhere.
Ōharame represents women from Ōhara, who sold firewood and charcoal in Kyoto by carrying the firewood on their heads. It is said that the model of Ōharame is Awanonaiji, who dressed in this style when she gathered firewood.
Although Ōharame disappeared in the Showa period, you can see an Ōharame procession during the Ōharame Festival in May. The procession consists of female participants dressed in the Ōharame costumes from different eras. They will first gather at Jakkō-in and parade to Shōrin-in Temple (勝林院) before they make their way back.
You can also see Ōharame in Jidai Festival (時代祭), held in October each year at Heian Jingū Shrine (平安神宮).
Tip: If you understand basic Japanese, you can book to be dressed in the Ōharame costume. For more information, please refer to our Ōhara article!
Jakkō-in’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- Jakkō-in is open from 9 am to 5 pm from March to November.
- In December and from the 4th of January to February, it closes early at 4:30 pm.
- Between the 1st and the 3rd of January, it opens from 10 am to 4 pm.
- The admission fee is
- 600 yen for adults
- 350 yen for junior high school students
- 100 yen for elementary school students
- From Ōhara bus stop (大原), it is around a 10 to 15-minute walk.
Discover Other Fascinating Attractions in Ōhara
In addition to Jakkō-in, a couple more temples in Ōhara are worth your time.
In our Ōhara article, we have also included a couple of dining options for lunch or dinner and general information about the spiritual village. You will also find a recommended itinerary you can follow for a day in Ōhara!
