Chōhō Temple

A Buddhist temple in central Kyōto with a distinctive hexagonal hall — legendary as the birthplace of ikebana flower arranging, and a calm spot amid busy shopping streets.

Rokkaku-dō — officially Chōhō-ji — is a Buddhist temple tucked into Kyōto's busy Nakagyō-ku shopping district, named for its distinctively hexagonal main hall. Associated with the Tendai school of Buddhism, it is the 18th stop on the Saigoku Pilgrimage, one of Japan's oldest pilgrimage routes. The temple is also legendary as the birthplace of ikebana, Japanese flower arranging: Prince Shōtoku is said to have arranged flowers for Buddha here in the 6th century, and the Ikenobo Ikebana school — the oldest in Japan — still has its headquarters on the temple grounds. Surrounded by modern shopping streets, the small temple precinct with its ancient trees and hexagonal pavilion offers a genuinely calm pause in the middle of the city.