Jingo-ji
Buddhist temple on Mount Takao in Kyoto
Jingo-ji (神護寺) is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It stands on Mount Takao to the northwest of the center of the city. The temple adheres to Shingon Buddhism. Its principal image is a statue of Bhaisajyaguru (Yakushi Nyorai), the Buddha of Healing or "Medicine Buddha".
The temple was first established in the year 824, as a merger of two private temples founded earlier by Wake no Kiyomaro. They were the Jingan-ji (神願寺) in Kiyomaro's home province and the Takaosan-ji (高雄山寺).
Treasures
Jingo-ji holds sixteen National Treasures of Japan. They include the honzon and other statues. Another treasure is a list written by Kūkai in 812 called the "Name List of Abhisheka [Initiates]" (灌頂歴名, kanjōrekimyō) and displays some of Kukai's talent for calligraphy. This list contains people and deities in 812 who underwent the abhisheka at Takaosan-ji presided by Kūkai.
“Jingo-ji” enters the record as buddhist temple on Mount Takao in Kyoto. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Jingo-ji, Buddhist and temple can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Jingo-ji” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Jingo-ji, Buddhist and temple provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1075034. VIAF identifies the subject as 145410491. Authority coordinates are 35.055, 135.671. 1 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jingo-ji” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.