This Ankoku Temple is one of the many temples which the brothers Ashikaga Takauji and Naoyoshi built throughout the nation to pray for the soul of Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339; reigned from 1318). It is said that the eight-sided wooden revolving shelves which store the sutras (known in Japanese as “Hakkaku-rinzo”) is the oldest of its type in Japan. Within the temple precincts, there is a storehouse with collections of folklore and archaeology of the old Kokufu township as well as a sacred, forested area behind the temple where one can find 33 stone statues of Buddha.

Location: 474, Saimonzenn, Kokufu-cho, Takayama City

Access: about 30 minutes from JR Takayama Station by car