Hieizan Enryakuji
Hieizan Enryakuji, at 4220 Sakamoto Honmachi in Otsu, Shiga, is the head temple of the Tendai sect. In 788 Saicho, known as Dengyo Daishi, founded the Ichijo Shikan-in (the later Konpon Chudo) on Mount Hiei and carved its principal image, Yakushi Nyorai. After studying in Tang China, Saicho laid the foundations of Japanese Tendai, and the sect was formally established in 806. Honen, Shinran, Dogen, Nichiren and other founders of later Japanese schools all studied on Mount Hiei, and the official site calls Enryakuji the mother mountain of Japanese Buddhism. The grounds are divided into the Todo (Eastern Pagoda), Saito (Western Pagoda) and Yokawa areas, and the temple was inscribed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1994.
Good to know before you go
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- Enryakuji (Otsu) makes admission free from 17:00 on New Year's Eve to 08:00 on New Year's Day, and the Hieizan driveways stay open all night (weather restrictions possible). ↗
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- At Enryakuji visitors ring the bell in numbered-ticket order, in groups of five to six. ↗
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- Enryakuji's numbered tickets are given to visitors who receive a sai-saki-ya arrow (¥1,500) at the general information office from about 21:30 on December 31. ↗
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- Admission to Enryakuji is free from 17:00 on December 31 to 08:00 on January 1. ↗
- notice.topic.q_all_night:enryakuji
- Enryakuji's New Year visiting hours run from 17:00 on December 31 through to 08:00 on January 1. ↗
- notice.topic.q_access:enryakuji
- For Enryakuji, the official list states that the Hieizan and Oku-Hiei driveways operate all night from New Year's Eve into New Year's Day, with possible restrictions in snow or ice. ↗
- notice.topic.q_rules:enryakuji
- At Enryakuji ringing follows numbered-ticket order, in groups of five to six; the official list gives no other rules such as photography. ↗
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- At Enryakuji the New Year's Eve bell is paired with the Oni-oi demon-expelling ceremony: the temple's official annual calendar lists “Oni-oi ceremony and New Year's Eve bell” together on December 31 around the Konpon Chudo. The mountain has more than one historic bell tower: the tower in front of the Amida Hall in the Todo area, the Saito bell tower and the Yokawa bell tower are all national Important Cultural Properties. ↗
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