Story of Horinji Temple

There are two stories of how Horinji Temple, also known as Miidera, came to be. One holds that Prince Yamashiro (d. 643) and his son established the temple in 622 to pray for the recovery of Yamashiro’s ailing father, Prince Shotoku (574–622), a regent who established a centralized government leading to the early formation of Japan. The second story maintains that two Buddhist monks, Emmyo and Kaihoshi, both of whom came from the ancient Korean kingdom of Paekche, as well as one lay person, Shimohi Shinmotsu, founded the temple.

Though the date of its establishment is unclear, Horinji was completed by the seventh century, originally on a much larger scale. The temple began to decline around the thirteenth century, and in 1645 a typhoon destroyed most of the buildings in the compound. Only the Three-Story Pagoda survived, and it continued to stand for another three centuries. Horinji was revived in the eighteenth century when its Main Hall and Lecture Hall were rebuilt. Today, the temple houses a number of treasures, including the Eleven-Headed Kannon statue, designated an Important Cultural Property.

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Precincts

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    Kondo Hall. The principal image of the Buddha was once enshrined here, beginning with Yakushi Nyorai and including others.

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    Lecture Hall (Collection Room). This was originally a hall for monks to study in, but is now where Yakushi Nyorai, the principal image of the Buddha, and a total of eleven Buddhist statues are enshrined.

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    Myokendo Hall. The building that enshrines the concealed Myoken Bodhisattva standing statue, and where the Hoshi Matsuri ceremony is held, praying for a year with fortune and fulfillment, and without bad luck.

Address
1570 Mii , Ikaruga , Ikoma District , Nara 636-0101 , Japan
Inquiries
Tel: 0745-75-2686
Visiting Hours
8:00 a.m. ~ 5:00 p.m. (March ~ November)
8:00 a.m. ~ 4:30 p.m. (December ~ February)
* Open throughout the year.
Entrance Fee:
Adults 500 yen (Groups: 400 yen per person)
Junior High School and High School Students 400 yen (Groups: 320 yen per person)
Elementary School Students 200 yen (Groups: 160 yen per person)
* Groups consist of 30 or more people

- From JR Horyuji Station
About a 35-minute walk.

- From Kintetsu-Koriyama Station
Take the Nara Kotsu Bus for “Horyuji-mae” and get off at “Chuguji-mae”. It is about a 15-minute walk from there.

- From Kintetsu Tsutsui Station
Take the Nara Kotsu bus for “Oji-mae (Horyuji-mae)” and get off at “Chuguji-mae”. It is about a 15-minute walk from there.

- From JR Oji Station
Take the Nara Kotsu bus for “Nara via Horyuji-mae” and get off at “Chuguji-mae”. It is about a 15-minute walk from there.

* From Kyoto Station, it is convenient to take an Express train for Kashiharajingu-mae or Tenri and then get off at Kintetsu-Koriyama Station (or take an Express train for Nara and change trains at Yamato-Saidaiji Station). From JR Osaka, it is convenient to take the Yamato Line to JR Koryuji Station (Express for Nara - Kamo).