JURINJI
十輪寺
Jurinji 十輪寺
Founded in 850 AD on the western outskirts of Kyoto, near Yoshiminedera, Jurinji has been flocked by many women who make a wish for their safe delivery because of the inspiring story that the wife of Emperor Montoku gave birth to a baby prince safely by building Jurinji and asking the secure delivery to the god in the temple.
In addition, Jurinji is known for its association with the famous ancient poet Ariwara no Narihira and is called casually Narihiradera. Ariwara no Narihira is a popular poet among lovers of traditional Japanese verse and is assumed to be a protagonist in an old lyrical storybook known as Ise Monogatari. The poet, as a legend passed on the temple goes, spent his last days living in Jurinji and enjoyed making beautiful purple smoke from burning seawater.
The smoke seen from the Oharano Jinja shrine nearby was also a sign showing his affection for his ex-girlfriend, who became a wife of the Emperor at that time when she visited the shrine. Jurinji still keeps the place where the smoke was used to be generated in a bamboo forest behind the main hall of the temple.
The temple also has a big old cherry tree, called Narihira sakura, in a traditional Japanese garden. In spring when flowers are on, numerous tourists visit the temple for appreciation of splendid cherry blossoms in rather unusual settings such as looking from inside the room or from an uphill path on the back of the temple's main building. The chief priest of the temple has been promoting exchange programmes of Buddhist monks between Japan and Sri Lanka and is happy to receive guests from overseas for having nice conversations in English or Japanese.