Kenninji
建仁寺
Temple
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
Kenninji is one of Kyoto’s oldest Zen temples, located in Higashiyama near Gion. Founded in 1202 by the monk Eisai, who helped introduce Rinzai Zen and brought tea culture from China, it’s considered the head temple of Japanese Zen’s earliest roots. The grounds include quiet halls, dry gardens, and the famous twin dragons ceiling painting in the Dharma Hall, created in 2002 to mark the temple’s 800th anniversary.
