Honpuku-ji, Buddhist temple in Katata, Ōtsu, Japan

Honpuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Katata near Otsu featuring a unique connection between above-ground and underground spaces. A circular pool of water leads down through stairs to a subterranean sanctuary glowing with red-orange light.

Founded during the Shōwa era (1312–1317) by Zendō, a priest of Mikami Shrine in Yasu District, who became a disciple of Kakunyo of Hongan-ji. The temple sheltered Rennyo during the Kansei persecution, was burned in 1468 in the Katada Ōseki attack, and its fifth abbot Myōshō was excommunicated three times and starved. The main hall, damaged in the 1662 earthquake, was rebuilt around 1703 with a donation from Hotta Masataka; it burned in 1954 and was rebuilt in 1995.

Honpuku-ji belongs to the Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha school, not Shingon. Its name is linked to Rennyo, the eighth head of Honganji, whom the temple sheltered during the Kansei persecution; the temple was burned in 1468 in the Katada Oseki attack by Enryaku-ji. The 11th abbot, Myoshiki, was the haiku poet Senna, a disciple of Matsuo Basho.

Honpuku-ji stands at 1-22-30 Motokatata, Otsu, in Shiga Prefecture. From JR Katata Station on the Kosei Line, take the Eizan bus Katata-machi loop and get off at Katata Demachi or Ukimido-mae; the loop runs from the station between roughly 10:00 and 15:00 on Saturdays, holidays, 2–3 January, 14–16 August and 29–31 December. The temple grounds hold the main hall, Rennyo Hall, bell tower, kuri and gate, plus the Honpuku-ji kindergarten.

The temple keeps the Honpuku-ji atogaki, medieval records in three volumes and one scroll that are a designated tangible cultural property of Otsu. They describe the spread of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji school around Katata and the repression of its opponents by Renjun. The 11th abbot, Myoshiki, was also the haiku poet Senna, a disciple of Matsuo Basho.