Dainenbutsu-ji, Buddhist temple in Hirano district, Osaka, Japan

Dainenbutsu-ji is the head temple of the Yuzu Nembutsu school in Hirano-ku, Osaka. Its main hall, rebuilt in 1938 after a 1908 fire, is the largest wooden building in Osaka Prefecture, made of keyaki wood with a copper roof. The 24,000-square-meter grounds hold over 30 buildings, including a 1706 mountain gate and a south gate moved from a former domain school in 1962.

Founded in 1127 by Master Ryonin, the temple grew from a meditation center into the head temple of the Yuzu Nembutsu Buddhist school. The teachings and practices of this school shaped its development and religious role throughout the centuries.

Every year from 1 to 5 May, the Manbe Oneri reenacts the descent of Amida and 25 bodhisattvas: participants move from the outer precincts into the main hall, representing the passage from this world to the Pure Land. The rite, based on the kangyo ceremony of Taima-dera, is an Osaka City-designated intangible folk cultural property.

The temple stands in Hirano-uemachi, about five minutes on foot from JR Hirano Station and eight minutes from Osaka Metro Hirano Station; city buses stop at JR Hirano Ekimae and Kintetsu buses at Hirano Motomachi 6-chome. The grounds cover 24,000 square metres with over thirty buildings, so allow time to walk between the main hall, the south gate and the belfry.

The temple keeps a ghost scroll in its treasure hall, built in 1980. The hall also holds a scroll of the Mao Shi Zheng Jian, a Chinese classic of poetry with Zheng Xuan's commentary, deposited at the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art as a National Treasure.