Hōkyō-ji Monzeki (Doll Temple)

Central (Rakuchū)｜西陣

A convent of imperial rank known as the Dodo Palace, where emperors' daughters served as abbess for generations. Behind its front gate—rebuilt after the Great Tenmei Fire—stands an inner gate said to have been opened only when a princess arrived by palanquin, the palanquin-resting stone still set in the ground. The princess Kazunomiya is said to have passed a time here in the temple's last Edo years. Today the gate stays shut but for the doll exhibitions of spring and autumn.

Coffee nearby

Stones nearby

These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.