Kanga-an Temple

This guide to Kanga-an Temple in Kyoto begins nine hundred years before the temple existed, with the court diviner Abe no Seimei forging a golden guardian statue to hold back evil pouring from Kyoto's demon gate. It follows the guardian's journey from Kifune Shrine to this hillside in the 1660s, when Emperor Go-Mizunoo had a dream and asked the monk Sengai to found a temple around it. A six-pointed star, Seimei's personal seal, is still carved into the stone altar out front. Look for it before you step inside.