Cultural Assets－Temples and Shrines

Tradition holds that this ancient temple, which is located in Kitayama of the Katsuragi-Kongo Range, was founded by En no Gyoja. A legend describes how En no Gyoja slew a dragon that lived in the area by cutting it into three pieces and then building three temples to mourn the creature’s head, torso, and tail. Sokoku-ji Temple is said to have been founded by combining those three temples. The temple’s principal object of worship, a seated statue of Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha) that dates to the Heian Period (794 to 1185), has been designated an Important Cultural Property. A repository located in the northern part of the temple’s precincts holds numerous Buddhist statues, including a standing statue of the wrathful guardian deity Fudo Myo-o and a statue of En no Gyoja.