Kaihō-ji, Buddhist temple in Fushimi-ku, Japan.
Kaihō-ji is an Ōbaku-shū temple in Momoyamachō Masamune, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. Its butsuden and hojo were both built in 1764; the hojo once held Itō Jakuchū's late painting "Gunkei-zu", now kept by the Kyoto National Museum, and its room is called "Jakuchū hitte no ma". A mokkok tree said to have been planted by Date Masamune, about 400 years old, stands before the butsuden.
Founded during the Kyōhō era (1716–1736) by Kōdō Genchō, 12th abbot of Manpuku-ji, and used as a retreat by the 13th abbot, Jikuan Jōin. A separate tradition holds that Jikuan converted an earlier Tendai temple called Kaihō-ji to the Ōbaku school. The site lies in Momoyamachō Masamune, named for the Date clan's Fushimi residence, and Daimaru founder Shimomura Hikouemon Masakiyo, a devotee of Jikuan, helped fund the temple.
The temple belongs to the Ōbaku school of Zen and is known for fucha ryōri, the Chinese-style vegetarian cuisine; a plaque on the mountain gate reads "Fucha Daihonzan Kaiso Dōjō". In the precinct stands a祠堂 hall where memorial tablets of people connected to the Daimaru department store are kept, since its founder Shimomura Hikouemon Masahiro was a devotee of Zhikong Jingyin.
Kaihō-ji stands in Momoyamachō Masamune, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, about nine minutes on foot from Sumizome Station on the Keihan Main Line. The precinct is compact: the Buddha hall and the abbot's quarters, both built in 1764, face each other, with the mokkoku tree in front of the hall. A board placed by the city of Sendai marks the site of the Date family's upper residence.
The temple is known for fucha ryōri, the Chinese-style vegetarian cuisine of the Ōbaku school, and a plaque at the mountain gate reads "Fucha Daihonzan Kaiso Dōjō". In the abbot's quarters, a room called "Jakuchū's brush-throwing room" once held Itō Jakuchū's late painting "Gunkei-zu", now kept at the Kyoto National Museum.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,373 contributors worldwide.