Byōō-in, in Uji, is instantly recognisable to anyone who's handled Japanese currency — its Phoenix Hall is depicted on the 10-yen coin — and remains one of the best-preserved examples of Heian-period aristocratic architecture anywhere in the country. We introduce it briefly in our Uji district guide; here's the fuller picture.
The Phoenix Hall
Built in the mid-11th century, the hall is designed to evoke the Buddhist Pure Land — a paradise believed reachable through devotion to Amida Buddha — set over a reflecting pond so that the building appears to hover on the water's surface. Two bronze phoenix ornaments perch on the roof ridge, giving the hall its name.
The Amida Buddha statue inside
The hall's central statue, a seated Amida Buddha, is the work of Jōchō, a sculptor credited with perfecting the yosegi technique — assembling a large statue from multiple joined blocks of wood rather than carving from a single trunk — which became the standard method for Japanese Buddhist sculpture for centuries afterward.
Hōshōkan Museum
A modern museum on the grounds houses several of the temple's most significant original treasures, moved indoors for preservation, including the original temple bell and a set of wooden bodhisattva statues that once lined the hall's walls — worth the extra time if you want to see these objects up close rather than at a distance inside the hall itself.