A building which enshrines an image of the Amida (Amitābha) Buddha. Records of this type of building are known since the Nara period, but it flourished after the middle of the Heian period when belief in the Pure Land (Jōdo) became prevalent. It is situated at the center of a Pure Land garden. The examples at Byōdōin and Jōruriji temple are well known.
Japanese Garden Dictionary: A Glossary for Japanese Gardens and Their History
(C) 2010 by Ono Kenkichi and Walter Edwards. All rights reserved.
