Hannya-ji Temple

Hannya-ji is an old temple in the north of Nara. It is known as the temple that guards the "demon gate" (the unlucky northeastern direction) of the ancient capital Heijo-kyo, and because about 150,000 cosmos flowers of 30 varieties bloom in its grounds, it is also called the "Cosmos Temple". The view of the National Treasure two-story gate beside the Important Cultural Property 13-story stone pagoda is the face of the temple.

The Romon gate was built in 1267 as the west gate of the cloister. It is regarded as the oldest surviving example of a two-story gate in Japan and is a National Treasure. Behind it stands the 13-story stone pagoda, about 14.2 meters tall and built in 1253, with the four Buddhas of exoteric Buddhism carved on its four sides. When it was dismantled and repaired starting in 1964, many votive objects were found inside.

Temple tradition says the Goguryeo monk Ekan founded it in 629. In 735 Emperor Shomu is said to have had halls and a pagoda built to guard the demon gate of Heijo-kyo, and the name Hannya is said to come from the Great Hannya Sutra placed in the base of the pagoda, over which a stupa was raised. The temple lost its buildings when Taira no Shigehira burned Nara in 1180. In the Kamakura period the monk Eison of Saidai-ji restored it and had a statue of Monju Bosatsu (Manjushri) made, but that statue was lost in a fire in 1490. War in 1567 again destroyed the main buildings, and the present main hall is a rebuilding of 1667.

The main hall is a Nara Prefecture designated cultural property and houses as its principal image the wooden Monju Bosatsu riding a lion (Important Cultural Property), commissioned by Monkan in 1324. The grounds also hold a sutra repository (Important Cultural Property) and two stone sotoba towers (Important Cultural Properties) that Ino Yukiyoshi raised in 1261 as a memorial for his father Ino Yukisue, so you can compare stone cultural properties such as these towers and the 13-story pagoda up close.

Known as a temple of flowers, it changes its look with the seasons: kerria (from mid-April), hydrangea (late May to the end of June), cosmos (autumn varieties from September) and narcissus (from mid-December). Special admission periods are set for the hydrangea and cosmos seasons, so it is wise to check the official information before you go. Todai-ji Museum and Todai-ji Temple are both about 1.3 km away, so you can combine them with a walk around the Todai-ji area as the northern entrance to Nara.