The Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in Temple in Uji, Japan

Interested in the history of Japanese art or Japanese religion? Travel back in time to explore the Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in Temple in Uji, Japan and Pure Land Buddhism. Learn about the origins of this magnificent temple and how it symbolizes the teachings of Buddhism.

More about the Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in

This site was converted from a summer retreat to a Buddhist temple in 1052 during the Heian period. It represents the Western Paradise of Amida Buddha (or Amitabha Buddha). In the interior, there is a giant sculpture of Amida Buddha and a lot of other art that works to help worshippers imagine Amida Buddha’s descent from the Western Paradise to meet them. During the Heian period, people believed they were living in an age of chaos and despair called mappō. During mappō, people felt it was hopeless to achieve Buddhist nirvana, or enlightenment, so people put their hope in Amida Buddha and rebirth in the Western Paradise. This was all part of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan.

Learn more about why the Phoenix Hall is so famous!

Main art and architecture:

1. Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in, originally built 998 and transformed into a Buddhist temple in 1052, Heian period, in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

2. Statue of Amida Buddha, in the Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in

3. Several wooden bodhisattvas from inside the Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in. From 鳳凰堂雲中供養佛 Hōōdō unchū kuyōbutsu (Tokyo: 美術懇話會 1936)

4. Descent and Return of Amida to Western Paradise with a Believer's Soul (Gōshō mandara), c. 1300, Kamakura period, ink and color on silk, Japan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art