Bishamondo Ruins

The Bishamondo Temple Ruins are known for their beautiful autumn foliage. The highlight is the Bansui-en, a stroll garden within the temple grounds, where you can enjoy the stunning scenery of the entire garden dyed in vivid autumn colors. The approach to the Bishamondo Temple is also a famous spot for fall colors, with the leaves creating a carpet of red and gold. During the autumn foliage season, many tourists visit, so it can get crowded, but it's worth a visit to see the beautiful autumn foliage.

The grounds of the Bishamondo Temple Ruins have various attractions. For example, the "Takadai Benzaiten," also known as the "Furo Benten," and the main hall, which enshrines Bishamonten, are among the most powerful spots on the grounds. In addition, the "Bansui-en," which we introduced as a spot for autumn foliage, is attractive because you can enjoy beautiful scenery throughout the four seasons, not just autumn leaves. With the exception of some areas, Bishamondo Temple is open for free visits, so please feel free to visit.

The Bishamon-do Temple Ruins are also known as a cherry blossom spot. In particular, the weeping cherry tree in front of the Shin-den, where flowers bloom on drooping branches, is a well-known cherry blossom spot in Kyoto that only those in the know are aware of. Every spring, events such as cherry blossom viewing parties and flower festivals are held, so if you want to enjoy tea or music along with the flowers, be sure to check the schedule in advance. It's also a great point that many of the spots where you can view the cherry blossoms are free areas.

If you love shrine seals, you may be curious about what kind of shrine seal you can get at the Bisamondo ruins. Bisamondo is known as a cherry blossom spot in spring and a fall foliage spot in autumn, and you can receive seasonal limited edition shrine seals with eye-catching illustrations and colors. In addition, there is an original shrine seal book for the Bisamondo ruins with various colors, so if you're interested, please visit the shrine office to check it out.

In the paid area of the Bishamondo Temple ruins, the Shinden and Reiden halls each have two paintings. Using a technique called "reverse perspective," the sliding door paintings make it appear as if the desks inside are moving, while the huge ceiling painting of a heavenly dragon in the Reiden is a valuable work of art that can only be seen here. By the way, the painting of a dragon called "the dragon that looks in all directions" also has a trick art mechanism that makes it appear as if the dragon's gaze follows you even when you move.