Keishunin

2025.02.26: We have renewed our website.

About Keishunin

A secluded Zen temple standing in Kyoto's Hanazono, where traces of renowned generals and cultural figures remain to this day.

The origins of Keishunin Temple date back to the Azuchi-Momoyama period.It was founded here by Tsuda Hidenori, a grandson of Oda Nobunaga, and later restored by Ishikawa Sadamasa, who served both Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.For nearly 400 years, the buildings and interiors have retained their original form, allowing visitors to experience the atmosphere of an ancient Kyoto temple town and the solemn presence of a Zen temple to this day.

A precious temple where you can walk among cultural treasures and breathe the same air as people of old.

Among the sub-temples of Myōshin-ji, the head temple of the Myōshin-ji branch of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, Keishunin is one of the few open year-round. Visitors can walk through its designated tangible cultural properties of Kyoto Prefecture: the front gate, main hall, and study hall.Highlights also include the fusuma paintings “Pines and Crescent Moon in Gold and Blue-Green (Kinpeki Matsu Mikazuki-zu)” by Edo-period artist Kano Sansetsu, whose works are also held in overseas museums, along with various other extant furnishings.

A national scenic spot and historic beauty left behind by the disciple of a great tea master. Four gardens depicting a “story of enlightenment.”

This garden was created by Gyokuenbo, a monk and landscape architect who was a disciple of Kobori Enshu, a successor to Sen no Rikyu.Gyokuenbo is said to have also been involved in designing Katsura Imperial Villa, hailed as the “supreme masterpiece of Japanese garden art.”The Japanese gardens arranged at Keishunin depict distinct landscapes through creative ingenuity, representing the journey of a monk entering training until he attains enlightenment.

Learn more about the four gardens.

Photo Gallery

Even after many years, Keishunin retains its unchanging tranquil scenery.
The changing seasons, especially spring, summer, autumn, and winter,
combined with the beautiful architecture and gardens, reveal an indescribable Japanese beauty to visitors.

Special Exhibition Archive

Keishunin, home to cultural properties and national historic beauty and places of scenic beauty,
provides a space for expressing the aesthetic sensibilities it has inherited.
It hosts irregularly scheduled exhibitions featuring various artists from Japan and abroad.