Tenryu-ji was established in 1339 by the shogun Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) in memory of Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339), with the eminent Zen master Muso Soseki (1275-1351) appointed as founding abbot.
Landed estates were donated to the new temple to help fund its construction, but as the resulting revenues proved insufficient Muso Soseki and Ashikaga Tadayoshi devised a plan to send two trading ships to China and use the resulting profits to complete Tenryu-ji’s construction. This plan was a great success, and the temple was officially consecrated in 1345. It was designated first among Kyoto’s Five Mountains (the city’s five major Zen temples), a ranking it maintains to the present day.
http://www.tenryuji.com/en/about/index.html
8:30am-5:30pm
Winter (Oct.21-Mar.20) 8:30am-5:00pm
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kyoto