Buddhist temple
Saimyō-ji
西明寺（さいみょうじ）
Kōra, Shiga Prefecture
A Tendai temple in Kōra, Shiga Prefecture, counted as one of the Three Mountains of Kotō and also a temple of the Saigoku Yakushi forty-nine pilgrimage. Its principal image is Yakushi Nyorai, and it is also called the Yakushi Nyorai of Kotō.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
Prayers associated with this place
Principal image: Yakushi Nyorai
History and things to know
According to the temple's tradition, it began in Jōwa 1 (834), when Sanshū Shōnin witnessed the appearance of an image of Yakushi Nyorai on the western shore of Lake Biwa, built a temple east of the lake, and received from Emperor Ninmyō an imperial grant as Saimyō-ji. In the Sengoku period it was burned by Oda Nobunaga, but the main hall (Ruriden), the three-story pagoda and the Nitenmon gate, built in the Kamakura period, escaped, and the main hall and the three-story pagoda are designated National Treasures.
Introduced by this site, based on materials from the shrine or temple and public bodies.
Related kami and buddhas
Before you visit
There are temples of the same name in various places. This is Saimyō-ji (Ryūōzan) of the Three Mountains of Kotō, in Kōra, Shiga Prefecture.
Official website of the shrine or temple (may be in Japanese)
Sources (in Japanese)
- 西明寺「御祭神・御本尊・由緒の公式案内」（2026-10-21 確認）
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