Japan:To-ji Temple(JP081)

To-ji (East Temple) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in Kyoto, Japan. It once had a partner, Sai-ji (West Temple) and, together, they stood alongside the Rashomon, gate to the Heian capital. It was formally known as Kyo-o-gokoku-ji (The Temple for the Defense of the Nation by Means of the King of Doctrines?) which indicates that it previously functioned as a temple providing protection for the nation. To-ji is located in Minami-ku near the intersection of Omiya Street and Kujo Street, southwest of Kyoto Station.

To-ji was founded in the early Heian period. The temple dates from 796, two years after the capital moved to Heian-kyo. Together with its partner Sai-in, and the temple Shingon-in (located in the Heian Palace), it was one of only three Buddhist temples allowed in the capital at the time, and is the only of the three to survive to the present.