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  Large ema wooden plaque to the right of the temple gate. The wooden plaque shows the dragon from the sea that Kairyuoji Temple was named after.

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  Main Hall. The principal image of the Buddha, the Eleven-Faced Kannon, is enshrined here.

An early temple narrative relates that the eighth-century Buddhist priest Genbo had an important part in shaping Kairyuoji’s history. Genbo traveled to Tang Dynasty China to study and acquire Buddhist sutra scrolls. On his return trip, his small fleet of ships sailed into a fierce storm. Genbo continuously chanted sutras, including the Sea Dragon King sutra, to see his ship to safety. He returned to Kairyuoji with his precious cargo of 5,000 sutra scrolls, became head priest, and established Japan’s first sutra-copying center. The temple was named after the Sea Dragon King sutra.

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  Kentoshi Ship, reconstructed according to documents. The delegation that Japan sent to Tang (China) rode on this ship.

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  At Kairyuoji Temple, they hold a prayer service for having one of their early chief priests, Genbo, return safely from a storm. They pray for the “tranquility of the sea, which is the source of life, gratitude to nature, and the safety of all who cross the sea”. The photo is of a container used at that time. They use ocean water from all across Japan.

Since then, Kairyuoji has survived various periods of decline, sustaining damage during the Onin War (1467–1477), the Keicho Earthquake (1614), and the anti-Buddhist movement of the 1870s. Kairyuoji was most recently revived after World War II. Today, it houses a number of Important Cultural Properties, including the Statue of Eleven-Headed Kannon and the Five-Story Pagoda. Many visitors pray for safety as they cross the seas on their travels or to study abroad.

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  Hand-copied sutras that are said to have been written by Empress Komyo. They have been treated as a temple treasure.

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  Temple gate. It has a calm air to it, typical of an old Nara temple.