Byodo-in Hoodo

Byodo-in Hoodo is a temple (not a shrine) built by Fujiwara no Yorimichi, representing the essence of Pure Land Buddhism. As a structure representing the refined culture of the late Heian period aristocracy, it recreates the world of the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss in the present world. The beautiful Phoenix Hall, whose design appears on the ten-yen coin, is truly the crystallization of Heian aesthetic sensibility. The interior, centered on the Amitabha Buddha statue, seems itself like the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, purifying the hearts of all who visit. Its location on the banks of the Uji River adds to the sacred atmosphere of a place removed from the secular world.