Byakugō-ji Temple

Buddhist temple founded in 715 on Mount Takamado in Nara, named after one of the physical marks of the Buddha

Byakugō-ji is a Buddhist temple on the western slope of Mount Takamado in Nara, founded in 715 during the Nara period. Its name refers to the "byakugō" — the white tuft of hair between the Buddha's eyebrows, one of the 32 physical marks of an enlightened being. This naming points to the temple's deep iconographic tradition. Its quiet hillside setting, away from Nara's main tourist routes, makes it a place of genuine stillness. Among ancient stones, moss-covered lanterns, and the rustle of wind through bamboo groves, the spiritual atmosphere of early Japanese Buddhism remains palpable.