Daiho’on-ji Temple (Senbon Shaka-do Temple)

A temple of the Chisan Sect of the Shingon School, formally known as Zuiozan, it is also known by the name Senbon Shaka-do.
The temple was founded in 1221 when the priest Giku, grandson of Fujiwara-no-Hidehira, built a small hall on land donated by Ganko, a vassal of Nekoma Chunagon Mitsutaka, and placed images of the Buddha (a seated statue of Gautama Buddha) and the Ten Major Disciples inside.
Initially, the temple was used as a holy site for the Kusha, Tendai, and Shingon schools, the halls, pagodas, and compound were built in gorgeous style. However, in the unrest that began with the 15th century Onin War, the buildings were lost one by one to fire.
Only the Main Hall (Shaka-do) remains, and is the oldest standing Buddhist hall in Kyoto, and a National Treasure. It houses a seated statue of Gautama Buddha carved by Gyokai in the Kamakura period and the statues of the Ten Major Disciples carved by Kaikei, also from the Kamakura period, are inside the Treasure Hall, along with a large number of cultural assets that include a group of six different Kannon Bosatsu, a Thousand-Armed Kannon, and a standing bronze statue of the infant Buddha.
The Okame Fuku-Setsubun-e (a rite for warding off evil on Setsubun, the traditional day before spring) held every February, the Pottery Memorial Service in July, the Rokudo-mairi (Six Realms Pilgrimage) in August, and the Jodo-e (Enlightenment of the Buddha) and Daikodaki (Boiled White Radish; to wish for good health ) in December are just some of the many festivals and events held here, and which attract thousands of people.
Kyoto City