Chishaku-in Temple

The head temple of the Chisan School of Shingon Buddhism, it has more than 3,000 sub-temples around Japan. Originally the temple where the head instructor-priest of the Chisan School resided, it was located on Mt. Negoro in Kishu Province, it was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the head priest, Chief Abbot Genyu, took refuge in Kyoto. Later, he was patronized by Tokugawa Ieyasu and granted buildings and land within the grounds of the Toyokuni Shrine in 1601, where he could re-found Chishaku-in. Later, the temple gained land from the Shounzen-ji temple, on which it stands today.
Hideyoshi founded Shounzen-ji to pray for the repose of the soul of Tsurumatsu (Sutemaru), his eldest son, and was considered the greatest temple in Kyoto at the time.
The Temple Storage houses gorgeous sliding door paintings (National Treasures) dating from the Shounzen-ji, which are believed to have been painted by Hasegawa Tohaku and his students. These are considered excellent examples of Momoyama-period mural paintings. It also houses a number of notable Buddhist paintings, scrolls, and other artifacts designated as cultural properties, including a Diamond Sutra Scroll by Zhang Jizhi (National Treasure) and A Painting of a Waterfall by Wang Wei, considered the founder of the Southern School of painting (Important Cultural Property).
The garden, designated a Place of Scenic Beauty, is believed to have been laid out in the Momoyama period. A pond-and-spring garden designed to be viewed rather than walked through, it features artificial hills and a pond, and is considered one of the finest gardens in Kyoto.
Kyoto City