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BYODOIN TEMPLE - JAPAN


The temple, located on the west bank of the Uji River, was originally a rural villa of the nobleman Minamoto-no-Toru. In 998 A.D. in the Heian period, the villa was donated to a powerful nobleman Fujiwara-no-Michinaga, and was converted into a temple by his son Yorimichi in 1052. Additional buildings making up the compound were burnt down during a civil war in 1336. Byodoin features the most beautiful of Japan's few remaining Pure Land Gardens, a garden type with a pound in front of the building , which was popular during the Heian Period. The Phoenix Hall which was built in 1053 by a member of the Fujiwara clan, consists of a central hall and a tail corridor. The central hall houses a great statue of Amida Buddha.

Links:
Byodoin
Byodoin Temple

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