Buddhist temple
Taima-dera
當麻寺（たいまでら）
Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture
An old temple in Taima, Katsuragi, which enshrines as its principal image the Taima Mandala, linked with the legend of Chūjō-hime. A pair of ancient three-story pagodas still stand to the east and west, and Hakuhō-period art such as the Miroku Buddha of the Kondō has also come down.
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: the Taima Mandala
History and things to know
According to temple tradition, it began as Manpōzō-in, built by Prince Maroko, younger brother of Prince Shōtoku, and is said to have moved from Kawachi to Taima in the Hakuhō period. The Taima Mandala was made in the Nara period, and after the temple was burned in an attack at the end of the Heian period, it was revived from the medieval period onward as a temple of devotion to the mandala. In the early modern period the Shingon and Jōdo schools came to stand side by side in the same temple.
Introduced by this site, based on materials from the shrine or temple and public bodies.
Before you visit
This official website is run by Naka-no-bō, one of the sub-temples. The principal image, the Taima Mandala, is enshrined in the main hall (Mandala-dō) of the temple complex.
Official website of the shrine or temple (may be in Japanese)
Sources (in Japanese)
- 當麻寺「御祭神・御本尊・由緒の公式案内」（2026-10-22 確認）
This site is independent of the shrines, temples, and other websites mentioned. No partnership or endorsement is implied.