Ryugeji, Buddhist temple in Sera, Japan

Ryugeji is a Shingon Buddhist temple on Mount Imakoya in Sera, Hiroshima Prefecture. Its precinct retains the main gate (sōmon) and the torii of Awashima Shrine, and two sub-temples, Anraku-in and Fuchi-in, survive from the twelve that once lined the approach. The temple houses two wooden Eleven-Faced Kannon statues designated Important Cultural Properties.

Ryugeji is a bekakusho temple of the Shingon-shu Daigo-ha school on Imakoyasan in Sera, Hiroshima Prefecture. Temple tradition credits its founding to Kukai. In the Kamakura period it prospered as the administrative temple of Ota-no-sho, a Kii Province estate of Mount Koya, and twelve branch temples once lined the approach from the main gate; only Anraku-in and Fuchi-in remain.

Ryugeji is the 29th stop on the Setouchi 33 Kannon pilgrimage, and pilgrims come to pay respects before the two wooden Eleven-Faced Kannon statues kept here. The temple belongs to the Daigo branch of Shingon Buddhism and holds the rank of bekaku-honzan, with the mountain name Imakoyasan. Its name links it to the dragon-flower imagery of the Lotus Sutra.

Ryugeji is reached by bus from Bingo-Sanga Station on the JR Fukuen Line, about 20 minutes; by car it is roughly 7 minutes from the Sera interchange on the Onomichi Expressway, 30 minutes from the Onomichi, Mihara-Kui or Kochi interchanges, and 40 minutes from the Miyoshi interchange. The temple stands on the slope of Imakoyasan, with the main gate and approach path below the halls.

The temple's mountain name, Imakōyasan, refers to Mount Kōya: in the Kamakura period Ryūgeji served as the administrative temple (mandokoro-ji) of Ōta-no-shō, an estate held by Kōya-san in Kishū. Twelve sub-temples once lined the approach from the main gate; only Anraku-in and Fuchi-in remain.