Taigaku-ji

Taigaku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kasugai with traditional Japanese buildings arranged around carefully maintained gardens and a reflective pond. The structures spread across expansive grounds with multiple courtyards and structured landscape features.

The temple was founded in 796 and was among the first authorized for construction in the Kasugai region. Its long history appears in the varied building styles of its structures, which developed across centuries.

The temple honors Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha, and its layout reflects Shingon Buddhist practices through the arrangement of prayer spaces and altars.

Check opening hours before visiting and respect temple etiquette, including water cleansing at the designated basins. The grounds are mostly flat and easy to walk, allowing visitors to explore at their own pace over about an hour.

The temple displays building styles from multiple periods of Japanese history within its different structures, offering insight into architectural evolution. These layers allow visitors to observe how construction and design principles changed across longer spans of time.