Hoju-ji Temple

Traveler highlights

Hōjū-ji is a Tendai temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward, dedicated chiefly to Fudō Myōō. During the cloistered-government era, Emperor Go-Shirakawa developed the Hōjūji Palace complex around the temple. In 1183, Kiso Yoshinaka attacked and burned the palace, an event remembered as the Battle of Hōjūji. After Go-Shirakawa’s death, the temple was rebuilt on the site, and the retired emperor was buried in its Hokke-dō hall. Hōjū-ji consequently became a guardian temple for his mausoleum. After the Meiji Restoration, the mausoleum was separated from the temple and placed under the Imperial Household Agency. The site’s history shows how a temple connected to an imperial residence became a religious space guarding a tomb. Its links to the retired emperor, court, and Kyoto politics preserve traces of changing power.