Recorded Joy·Rakuchū / Kyoto Station

Hongan-ji Dendoin

This red-brick building was designed by Itō Chūta, then a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, and completed in 1912. It was built not as a temple but as the head office of the Shinshū Believers' Life Insurance Company. An Indian-style dome above the entrance, a hexagonal turret, Chinese-style balustrades—motifs from across Asia are boldly mixed, and stone statues of imaginary beasts are set around it. It is listed as an Important Cultural Property under its original corporate name.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.