Eikan-do Zenrin-ji: The Backward-Glancing Amida Buddha

Why is it significant?

Step through the grand gate into Eikan-do, formally known as Zenrin-ji, sprawling across the lower slopes of Mount Higashiyama.

Key Facts

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Step through the grand gate into Eikan-do, formally known as Zenrin-ji, sprawling across the lower slopes of Mount Higashiyama. Founded in eight hundred fifty-three by the monk Shinjo, a disciple of Kobo Daishi Kukai, the temple is celebrated throughout Japan as one of the ultimate autumn foliage destinations, boasting more than three thousand maple trees whose leaves turn brilliant shades of crimson and burnt orange around the central Hojo pond. Covered wooden corridors called Garyuro, or Reclining Dragon Corridors, weave gracefully up the steep mountain slope like the curving spine of a mythical dragon, allowing monks and pilgrims to ascend without stepping outside.

In the temple's Amida-do hall sits one of the most celebrated and unusual Buddhist sculptures in East Asia: the Mikaeri Amida, or 'Backward-Glancing Amida.' Carved from wood and covered in gold leaf in the late twelfth century, this seventy-seven-centimeter statue portrays the Buddha paused in mid-step, his head turned gently over his left shoulder to look backward with an expression of boundless compassion and patient grace.

According to temple legend, on a chilly winter morning in ten eighty-two, the devout abbot Eikan was walking around the altar chanting the nembutsu prayer when he saw Amida descend from the dais and lead the walking meditation ahead of him. When Eikan hesitated in stunned awe, Amida turned his head back over his shoulder and gently whispered: 'Eikan, you are moving too slowly,' reminding him that salvation patiently awaits all who struggle.

Climb the dragon corridor to the Tahoto pagoda perched high on the hillside: the panoramic view looks down across a sea of maple crowns to the rooftops and temple spires of Kyoto spreading toward the western mountains.

Exit the southern temple gates and proceed down the wide tree-lined approach leading to the colossal Sanmon gate of Nanzen-ji.