Dannohhorinji, Buddhist temple in Sakyō-ku, Japan.
Dannohhorinji is a Jōdo-shū temple in Kyoto's Sakyō-ku, founded in 1611 by the monk Tan'nō Ryōjō. Its main hall, rebuilt around 1750 and a city-designated cultural property, houses a standing Amida Buddha statue attributed to Eshin Sōzu. The entrance gate on Kawabata-dōri, built in 1766, has a shisa figurine on its roof, a reference to the temple's Ryukyu connections.
The temple was founded in 1611, when the Kyoto resident Fushimi Jirobei cleared the bamboo behind his house near Sanjo Ohashi and built a hermitage for the monk Tan'nō Ryōjō, who had returned from the Ryukyu Kingdom. Its predecessor, Goshin-ji, had been founded by Dōkō Ryoe in 1272 and later burned. The main hall was rebuilt around 1750 after a twelve-year restoration begun in 1738.
The temple's name comes from the second abbot, Dan'nō Ryōsen, whom townspeople affectionately called "Dan'nō-san." It is known for its black cat figurines with a raised right paw, made since the mid-Edo period as messengers of the Shuyashin deity and considered by some to be Japan's oldest maneki-neko. A shisa figure from Okinawa sits on the entrance roof, recalling the temple's founder, the monk Tanchū, who returned from the Ryukyu Kingdom.
The temple stands on Kawabata-dōri just north of Sanjō, a short walk from Keihan Sanjō Station and Sanjō Keihan subway station. The main hall, abbot's quarters and gate face the street; the Shiisaa on the entrance roof is easy to miss. Visitors enter the grounds for worship, so keep voices low and do not disturb ceremonies.
The temple keeps a black cat figurine with its right paw raised, made here since the mid-Edo period as the messenger of the Shuyashin deity; some claim it is Japan's oldest maneki-neko. A pair of shisa figures from Okinawa sits on the entrance roof, recalling founder Tan'nō Hōrin's stay in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
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