Byodo-in Temple

Byodo-in is an independent temple located in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture. Its origins trace back to 1052 CE (Eiso 7), when Fujiwara no Yorimichi, the retired regent, converted a villa inherited from his father, Fujiwara no Michinaga, into a temple. The principal image is a National Treasure: a wooden seated statue of Amida Nyorai (Amitabha Buddha), created in the late period by the Heian-era Buddhist sculptor Jochu. The Amida Hall, built the following year in 1053 CE (Tenki 1), is known as the Ho-o-do (Phoenix Hall) because it is crowned with a pair of phoenixes on its roof. Its reflection in the pond symbolizes the palace of the Pure Land, and it is designated as a National Treasure as the masterpiece of Heian-era Pure Land Buddhist culture. The hall is also widely recognized for its design, which inspired the phoenix depicted on the 10-yen coin and the 10,000-yen banknote. Byodo-in was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994 as part of the 'Cultural Properties of Ancient Kyoto'.