Chion-in is located in Kyoto’s Higashiyama-ku (Eastern Kyoto). It is the head temple of the Jodo Shu (Pure Land Sect) founded by Hounen (1133 – 1212), who proclaimed that sentient beings are reborn in Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu, Amida Buddha’s name. Chion-in was built to represent the Pure Land on Earth and features the largest gate and heaviest temple bell in Japan.
