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Chion-in is the main temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism which has millions of followers throughout the country and 7000 other temples but Chion-in is the main temple where this branch of Buddhism was created by Honen way back in the 12th century.
The main entrance Sanmon Gate is the largest wooden gate in Japan, 24 meters tall or 79 feet, and dates back to the early 1600s.
The vast temple grounds include 106 buildings and several beautiful gardens we will take you walking through.
We were fortunate to be able to enter the Miedo, the main building of the temple complex which is now closed for renovation until early 2019. Inside, a regular service was taking place with the Shōmyō, which is the melodic chanting of a Sutra. We'll show you more of that at the end of the video. [chanting]
There is no charge for walking around in the temple grounds but if you want to enter the gardens you do pay a small fee -- you can pay separately for one or for both gardens.
The two gardens that you find at Chion-in are smaller than what you'll find that many of the other temples of Kyoto but the gardens are quite lovely and we're going to walk you through them.
The Hojo garden is designated by Kyoto city as a famous scenic spot. It's a garden designed around the pond. We're enjoying it with the remains of the autumn foliage of early December -- you can also come in the spring and see the cherry blossoms or you'll experience the fresh greenery in the summertime.
It's a very small garden that you could walk around in five minutes and exit but it's so pretty that it's certainly worth stopping and standing and enjoying each of the views from its own particular angle, which of course is the way these gardens are designed. They are strolling gardens, so the idea is to walk along with your eyes open and stop here and there, look this way, look that way, and enjoy all the different views as they unfold.
