Byodoin
Byodoin is a temple in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and a World Heritage site. Its official English pages record that in 1052 the regent Yorimichi Fujiwara converted a villa given by his father Michinaga into a temple, the origin of Byodoin. The Amida-do Hall, completed the following year and known as the Phoenix Hall, is a National Treasure standing on an island in the Aji-ike Pond; seen from the front it resembles a bird with wings spread, with a pair of phoenixes on the roof. Inside sits an Amida Buddha completed by the sculptor Jocho in 1053, described by the temple as the only surviving work by him, and 52 Praying Bodhisattva statues on clouds, made by Jocho's studio in the same year, line the hall's upper walls. In 1994 Byodoin was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site as part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and National Treasures including the original phoenixes and the temple bell are now displayed in the temple museum, the Hoshokan.
Good to know before you go
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- Byodoin (Uji) opens only its south gate for the New Year's Eve bell; the main gate cannot be used, and the garden, Phoenix Hall and museum are not open that night. ↗
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- Byodoin's National Treasure bell, cast in the 12th century and 199 cm tall, is famed for its figure — one of the three great bells, with Onjo-ji's praised for its sound and Todai-ji's for its resonance. The original is kept in the Hoshokan Museum and a replica hangs in the bell tower; the site does not say which bell is rung on New Year's Eve. At the Joya-e, after a ceremony in the Phoenix Hall, visitors may ring the tower bell in groups from 23:30 and receive a special zodiac ema, first come, first served. ↗
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