Bishamondō Temple

This guide to Bishamondo Temple in Kyoto starts with a ceiling dragon painted by a Kano school artist, using a trick of perspective so precise that its gaze seems to follow you around the room. It traces the temple's founding in 703 under Emperor Monmu, its ruin in war and fire, and its revival in the early 1660s by the monk Tenkai with backing from shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. You'll hear how the rebuilt temple caught the favor of an emperor's son, and about the reverse-perspective panels lining the Shinden's sliding doors. Look for the drooping cherry tree over the Bansui-en pond garden while you listen.