Chion-ji

京都市左京区田中門前町103Open in Google Maps ↗

Hyakumanben Chion-ji is a head temple of the Jodo school in Kyoto's Sakyo ward, and gave its name to the Hyakumanben neighborhood. Honen once taught the nenbutsu at the temple's predecessor here, and his disciple Genchi founded Chion-ji to show gratitude for his teacher's kindness. In 1331 the eighth head priest and his followers chanted the nenbutsu one million times over seven days and nights while circling a giant prayer-bead strand, and an epidemic subsided; the name 'Hyakumanben' (one million repetitions) has been handed down ever since, and the temple still keeps its great prayer beads.