Rokuharamitsuji Temple

Rokuharamitsuji Temple features a roofline defined by heavy wooden eaves and a weathered, somber presence that sets it apart from the surrounding neighborhood. Established in nine hundred fifty-one by the monk Kuya, the temple originated as a site for rituals to curb a devastating plague. A life-sized wooden statue of Kuya remains here, carved during the Kamakura period. The sculpture depicts the monk with six small Buddha figures emerging from his mouth, representing the chanted mantra that supposedly helped cleanse Kyoto of disease.