Yokeiji Temple

Overview

Yokeiji Temple is a historic temple founded in 749 by Hōon Daishi. Initially called Himatayama Nirindō-ji, it flourished as one of the Bizen Forty-eight Temples built by Hōon Daishi. Hōon Daishi (? - 795) was a semi-legendary monk, reportedly from Nagawa, Tsutomi County, Bizen Province (present-day Haga, Okayama City), and many old temples in Okayama Prefecture trace their origins to him. It declined for a time, but was revived in the Heian period by Ennin (Jikakudaishi) and renamed Honkaku-ji. Later, it became the imperial prayer temple of Emperor Konoe and eventually took its current name, Jōjiyama Yokeiji Temple. During the Muromachi period, it gained the patronage of Norimune Urakawa, and later enjoyed the protection of the Ukita clan during the Sengoku period, and the patronage of the Okayama clan (the Ikeda clan) during the Edo period. It once had seven temples and thirteen sub-temples, but today six sub-temples remain: Eiryō-in, Honjō-in, Kisshō-in, Jōkō-in, Myōō-in, and Enjō-in. Toyohara Kitajima Shrine is adjacent, preserving the form of syncretism between Shinto and Buddhism that developed in the Heian period. The temple grounds house numerous valuable cultural properties, including the main hall, designated as an Important Cultural Property, and a wooden seated statue of Yakushi Nyorai from the Heian period. It also offers seasonal beauty, with cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in fall. It's a temple where you can feel the weight of history in a tranquil setting and enjoy a peaceful time. We highly recommend a visit.