Kennin-ji Temple: The Dragon Ceilings and Birthplace of Zen

Why is it significant?

Pass through the wooden gate of Kennin-ji and feel the immediate hush of Zen contemplation settle over you. Founded in twelve zero two by the Buddhist monk Eisai, this is officially recognized as the very oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.

Key Facts

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Pass through the wooden gate of Kennin-ji and feel the immediate hush of Zen contemplation settle over you. Founded in twelve zero two by the Buddhist monk Eisai, this is officially recognized as the very oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.

Monk Eisai did not just introduce Rinzai Zen Buddhism from Song Dynasty China—he also brought back tea seeds, planting the first tea bushes in Japan and writing the nation's first treatise on the health and spiritual virtues of drinking green tea, laying the philosophical foundation for the Japanese tea ceremony.

Step inside the Hodo dharma hall and tilt your head straight up: painted across the timber ceiling is a monumental ink mural of Two Twin Dragons swirling through storm clouds, painted by artist Junsaku Koizumi in two thousand two to celebrate the temple's eight hundredth anniversary. In the garden, white raked gravel ripples around moss-covered stones like waves in an endless ocean.

Exit east into the climbing stone lanes toward Yasaka Pagoda.