Buddhism in Japan

A mountaintop shrine-temple guarded by a horde of half-demon priests.

Home to 800-year-old zen basin, a 400-year-old pilgrim’s path, and a century-old industrial grotto.

Home to a legend of the supernatural raccoon dog, a rare wooden structure of Edo, and witnesses of the Tokyo bombings.

This lesser-visited gallery in a corner of the Tokyo National Museum complex is an architectural beauty dedicated to the ancient treasures of Hōryū-ji.

An eerie cluster of medieval cave-like tombs carved out of a cliff, hidden in a historic mountain pass.

A group of medieval rock-cut Buddhist statues created to save people from the volcanic hell that surrounds them.

A network of ancient tunnels and vaulted chambers with mystical Buddhist reliefs, built for ascetic training.

Hundreds of statues of Buddha’s disciples meditating, napping, sneezing, and picking their noses.

A bizarre statue of a Buddhist goddess made from 20,000 insects.

It is believed that this Buddhist temple stands right on the gateway to the underworld.

A hidden gallery exhibits intricate, decades-old Buddhist reliefs.

Nestled among the bamboos in a temple complex, this art installation serves as a unique memorial to insects.

This statue of Buddha has a distinctive hairstyle meant to represent an unfathomably long period of meditation.

A serene mountaintop temple complex featuring one big, bronze Buddha.

In 806, Kobo Daishi began meditating on Mount Misen. The Buddhist monk lit this holy fire, which has been kept burning for 1,200 years.

These medieval stone-cut Buddhist statues may protect visitors from being fired.