About Jakko-in Temple
This is a nunnery of the Tendai sect, said to have been built in the year 594 by Prince Shotoku as a memorial for his father, Emperor Yomei. It is also famous for being the location where Kenreimon-in, daughter of Taira no Kiyomori, empress-consort of Emperor Takakura, and mother of Emperor Antoku, lived her secluded life 800 years ago.
After the defeat at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, Kenreimon-in was unexpectedly saved and returned to Kyoto, however she fled from her home and became a recluse in Ohara. The Ohara Imperial Visit, where the former-Emperor Go-Shirakawa visited Kenreimon-in, is well known. Kenreimon-in lived in a small dwelling deep in the mountains of Ohara, where she spent the rest of her life quietly mourning the Taira clan. On the west side of the grounds a stone monument stands at the remains of Kenreimon-in’s dwelling. Next to that are the remains of a well, that is said to have been used at the time.
The main temple building and the former honzon item of worship (an important cultural property) were destroyed in a fire in the year 2000. The current main building and honzon are the result of a restoration effort 5 years later. The former honzon was very badly damaged, and is usually kept in a storage room, but is exhibited in a special display twice a year. Within the old honzon statue were three thousand and several hundred small figures of Jizo, protector of children. All of them survived the fire intact, and several are on display in the sanctuary.
Awanonaishi, the maid to Kenreimon-in, is said to have been a model Ohara woman. In an age where there was no electricity or gas, the women of Ohara would balance large pieces of firewood and kindling on their heads and walk through the city streets of Kyoto. The clothes that the women wore at the time were an imitation of Awanonaishi’s everyday wear, and have survived throughout the ages to this day with some changes. Also, the Ohara local specialty, Kyoto-style chopped vegetables pickled in salt with red shiso leaves, originates from when the local people made an offering of a salted pickled dish with summer vegetables such as eggplant, and red shiso leaves to Kenreimon-in, who called it “purple leaf pickles.”