Ikkyū-ji Temple, Buddhist temple in Kyotanabe, Japan

Ikkyuji, formally Shūon-an, is a Rinzai Ōbaku-style temple whose main hall, a Zen-style Buddha hall built between 1429 and 1441 under shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, stands among halls rebuilt in 1650 by Maeda Toshitsune. Its three abbot's-quarters gardens are a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty: white sand for the ocean in the south, sixteen arhats in the east, a dry waterfall in the north. The tall wooden gate with grey tiled roof and white plaster side walls tops a wide stone stair.

The temple's predecessor, Myōshō-ji, was founded in the late 13th century by the Zen master Nanpo Jōmyō. In 1456 Ikkyū Sōjun rebuilt it as a hermitage and named it Shūon-an to repay his teacher's kindness. The Maeda lord Maeda Toshinaga restored the halls in 1650, and Ikkyū died here in 1481 at age 88.

The temple is known for Ikkyūji nattō, a salty fermented soybean made with kōji mold rather than the stringy nattō common elsewhere; Ikkyū is said to have introduced the recipe from Song China about 500 years ago. Monks still prepare it, fermenting in summer and sun-drying it for a year. The temple also marks Ikkyū's birthday with the Ikkyū Zenzai day, held on the last Sunday of January.

The temple is at 102 Shin-aza Satonouchi, Taki, Kyotanabe. From Kintetsu Shin-Tanabe Station or JR Kyotanabe and Matsuiyamate stations, take Keihan bus routes 66A or 66B to the Ikkkyu-ji stop, then walk 4 minutes; routes 64 stop at Ikkyuji-michi, 5 minutes away. The direct express bus from Kyoto Station also stops at Ikkyu-ji.

Ikkyuji natto is not the stringy natto eaten at breakfast: it is fermented with koji mould, salted and sun-dried for about a year, a preserved food said to follow a recipe Ikkyu brought from Song China some 500 years ago. The abbot still makes it by hand each hot summer.