Shitennoji Temple Osaka

Shitennoji Temple Osaka

Shintennoji Temple is one of the oldest temples in Japan, having been established in 593, and is located in Osaka, a place not too many associates with ancient Japan, but which was the capital for a while.

According to the legend, it was Shotoku Taishi who established the temple, although there is a lot of scholarship that suggests much of the myth and lore of Shotoku Taishi was made up long after his death. What is clear, however, is that it was builders from the Korean Peninsula that constructed the temple and that it was descendants of Korean immigrants that were settled in the area of what is now Osaka.

Though rebuilt many, many times over the centuries, the original design is somewhat adhered to. It is a large complex with many buildings and also gardens. Shitenno are the 4 Heavenly Kings who guard the Buddhist world.

I was here for the first time as Shinteenoji is the first temple on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage